Checking out the champion redcedar trees of the Olympic Peninsula written and photographed by Ethan Shaw Washington plays host to some of the grandest trees anywhere on the planet, barnone—colossal Douglas firs and Sitka spruces, skyscraping noble firs, barrel-trunked ponderosas mingling their vanilla scent with the aroma of sagebrush. But arguably none of them presents such a combination of staggering size, eccentricity, and palpable ancientness as the western redcedar. Also called giant arborvitae (or simply, but incorrectly, “cedar”), this “Tree of Life” of many Northwest Coast native cultures ranks among the largest and longest-lived trees in the world, and certainly … Continue reading A Winter Redcedar Safari