Balch Park at Sequoias National Forest

On the 19th August, after finishing our training as interns in SCICON, we were invited to spend a day at Dianne Shew's packing station in Balch Park. Dianne is one of SCICON's naturalists and has been running this packing station for more than 20 years at the foothills of Sierra Nevada, amongst hundreds of ancient giant sequoias. In the picture, I am taking my first steps towards a great riding on the hills. Dianne is helping me to adjust the saddle.

Giant sequoias are a true natural inheritance for mankind. Most of these amazing trees are millennial and many of them exceed their 3000 years of age.

They may reach more than 300 feet in height and the total volume of their trunks is not beaten by any other species of trees. Some sequoias measure up to 40 feet in diameter, as measured at the base of the tree.