I would risk receiving a fine of 5,000 dollars and 6 months in jail for visiting Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world, it sounds incredible, but there are people who believe that it is worth it and it is quite impressive, its entire crown protrudes through much to the rest of the trees of the forest and without a doubt visiting it would be a magical and exciting experience…
All the experience described above would be true, if it were not for the fact that this is not Hyperion, nor the tallest tree in the world, despite being the image used by hundreds of articles talking about it and all the photos can be misleading. the reason why the true Hyperion, a California redwood tree around 700 years old, is in serious danger.
The original image taken by photographer MIchaek Nichols for National Geographic does not show Hyperion, it served to illustrate an article on California's redwood parks and mentions among other trees Hyperion, with a spectacular height of 115 meters, almost twice the height of most cathedrals.
It is so big that other species of trees can grow on its bark, ironically its seeds are no bigger than those of a tomato, despite its incredible record you could walk next to it and not realize that it is the tallest tree in the world. world and it is that Hyperion is located on the slope of a hill where giant trees of more than 90 meters abound, its trunk is not thicker than that of many of them.
When you can't see beyond the first 50 meters, it doesn't really matter how high it is, so you go thinking that you will find this spectacular tree that dominates the forest, but when you get there you only see the bases of many trees and you wonder yes it was worth it, but the damage is done and because of its popularity it may be that Hyperion's years are numbered.
Its discovery in 2006 by a couple of scientists, its location within the Redwood National Park had been kept strictly secret to prevent an avalanche of visitors from altering the environment and affecting the tree, until it was no longer a secret and now there are many photographs and videos of people who visit the tree despite the difficult access.
The main problem is the impact that the visit and the curious have on the environment of the tree despite the fact that there are no trails that lead to Hyperion, the constant flow of visitors has opened paths through the undergrowth and has eroded the area where the tree is located. , no longer grow ferns at their base that normally defend the roots of these giant trees.
This is problematic because despite being over 100 meters tall, redwoods have roots that only reach a depth of 4 meters. its roots extend horizontally in a radius of up to 30 meters, intertwining with the roots of neighboring trees and thus supporting each other.
The vegetation between the trees and the base of their trunks prevent the erosion of the land, without this vegetation the soil wears away, the roots are exposed and the giant trees can fall; Sometimes it's good to stay at home.
When a giant redwood called The Dyerville fell in 1991 in Humboldt Redwood State Park, locals in nearby towns believed it was a locomotive crash and the impact was detected by seismographs, therein lies the answer to the philosophical question of "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, it makes a noise" Well, yes, it makes a noise that you shit, even if you are in your little house miles away.
The fragility of these old giants does not remind us that our influence affects ecosystems in a much more extreme way than we like to believe, the trunks, branches and foliage of sequoias and trees in general are home to all kinds of organisms from the moss and the microorganisms that inhabit it, even birds, mammals and insects, and are the main organisms that slow down climate change.
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