Phillips Road Big Trees, Sooke

The tiny vehicle gives scale to this tall line of trees marching down Phillips Rd in Sooke.
The column consists of older Douglas fir and Sitka spruce.

Only eight years ago when I first moved to Sooke, upper Phillips Road (which runs along the west side of the Sooke River) was still like an entrance to the old forest. Here were some of the largest trees remaining within the municipal boundary.

At that time two massive Douglas fir elders stood on either side of the road creating a narrow bottle neck that I knew would need to go some day when development came farther up the road.

The centuries old trees were so close on either side of the pavement that they had large scars on their bark from multiple contacts with vehicles trying to squeeze through.

There has been development in this area since the earliest days of European settlement, but it was mostly limited to small farms along the Sooke River.

I was happy when these trees were spared during roadway upgrading in this developing area.
The empty field in the foreground is now a thriving community garden.

Now the Sunriver neighbourhood has added hundreds of new homes and the treescape has been dramatically and permanently altered. Eventually the two large trees guarding the entrance to the old forest on upper Phillips Rd. became impediments to development, and were taken down. The stumps were pulled and an upgraded roadway was put in.

Other spectacular trees survived the on-going transformation of this part of Sooke, including the tall row of trees across Phillips Rd. from the community garden. There are others to be found here and there along the Sooke River that runs along the eastern edge of this new neighbourhood.

Sooke's Ancient Douglas-firs Almost Gone

This 1925 view shows Ed and Jack Phillips with double bitted axes
undercutting a small Douglas-fir.

There used to be big Douglas-fir trees in the Sooke area. Really, really big. Trees 10 feet wide, and 300 feet tall were common. But the big trees have been almost completely removed from the region.

Some ancients still exist in these parts, but they are usually individual lonely trees rather than groves or forests of them. Phillips Road, which runs up the west side of the Sooke River, is one such place that some of the last holdouts remain, so it is an area in which I am interested.

Sooke historian, Elida Peers, recently published an article in the local newspaper about one particularly large Phillips Rd. Douglas-fir that lived just up the bank of the river for hundreds of years. Until about 10 years ago. Peers writes:

"Almost a decade ago, I was one of a group standing watching the falling of the seven-foot diameter Douglas-fir that stood as a sentinel at the entrance into the beginnings of the Sun River development on the old Phillips farm.   

Years ago, a team of fallers would have used a two-man crosscut saw to fell a tree of such a size, but with the use of power saws in recent times, this stately Douglas-fir presented a different sort of challenge. 

Troy Lovbakke was one of the fallers given the task, and he worked in tandem with Lance Lajeunesse and Bud Beam. The men started with 33” bars on their Husqvarna saws, moving on finally to saws with 52” bars. 

The belts of the high riggers could not encircle the bulk of the tree but they managed to get a steadying anchor cable in place to secure it from falling across Phillips Road.   

A pneumatic jack was used as well but could not withstand the weight. Finally two 40-ton screw jacks were required for the tree to be laid down safely in an area so near to a public road and houses. 

It was near nightfall by the time the gigantic tree came down with a resounding crash."

Oh, how many times that "resounding crash" has been heard on the south island. And despite having lived through the European occupation thus far, ancient trees like these continue to fall in Sooke, a town without a big tree policy (unlike some neighbouring communities).

A large Douglas-fir that still stands
up the Sooke River... for now.

Although I arrived in Sooke after the tree in Peers' article was brought down, two other huge, old Douglas-fir trees remained just past the 'new' intersection of Phillips Rd. and Sunriver Way. They stood on either side of the road directly across from each other.

So narrow was the passageway created by these wrinkly-barked woody columns that both trees had large scrapes and gouges in the thick bark, evidence of tussles with passing vehicles. I realized at the time that such beautiful specimens were not compatible with plans for a more modern (but less interesting) roadway through the trees and beyond.

Sure enough, within a few years these two Phillips Rd. holdouts were also removed in the ongoing development of the controversial Sunriver neighbourhood, and newer projects farther up the road.

Areas along the Sooke River on both sides still contain some of the biggest, tallest Douglas-fir trees in town. Most of them grow on private property and are inaccessible to the public. If you currently own some of these big Sooke River trees, I would love to hear about them.

Even the Sooke town centre twin Douglas fir trees, which were over a hundred years old, couldn't escape the fallers chainsaw. The trees were unceremoniously removed and replaced with two Norway spruce, a non-native species.

Considering the considerable contribution that the ancient Douglas-firs have made to the development of Sooke, you would think that we would show them some respect and save a few. Perhaps the time has come for a perspective shift, and the introduction of a tree protection bylaw for this growing community.

Sunriver Nature Park Trail

Sunriver Trail runs alongside the beautiful, salmon-bearing Sooke River

One of my favourite easy big tree get-aways close to home is the Sunriver Nature Park Trail which runs along the west bank of the Sooke River in the Sunriver neighbourhood in Sooke, BC.

Ancient Western red cedar

Even after the early years of resource extraction, and now with a residential development spreading across previously forested lands all along Phillips Road and the river, it is still possible to find the odd gigantic, ancient tree, and some peace and quiet.

Sun sets on a small patch of older forest

I took these photographs on a recent late afternoon hike along the Sunriver Trail which leaves Phillips Rd and extends along the river for about a kilometre. Even though I have been hiking here dozens of times, I see something new each time.


The area has the faint whiff of the primeval forest, and it is only a short bike ride from home.

Big moss and lichen covered maples populate the forest along with Douglas-fir, cedar, hemlock, and Grand fir

There may be houses encroaching on this beautiful spot, but for now it thankfully remains a semi-wild sanctuary for lovers of nature, big trees, and quiet. When you go, watch for bear, cougar, and other wildlife. 

Sooke River Big Trees

Ancient Western red-cedar along the Sooke River

The Sooke River, famous for geological formations known as 'potholes', is one of the largest rivers on south Vancouver Island. Along its rocky banks live survivors of the  logging boom that started in the late 1800s. It decimated the original forest - most, but not all, is gone.

Single individuals along trails, like the centuries old cedar in the photo above, or small groves in hidden nooks and crannies, these are the remnants of the primal forest that once covered the area with thousand year old giants.

A post I wrote here describes how to visit the cedar featured above. It is found along the Sunriver Nature Trail off Phillips Road in Sooke, BC, an excellent place to see a few examples of ancient big trees.

Giant Sooke River Snag

Giant Douglas-fir snag in Sooke represents an ancient forest that no longer exists

This is one of my favourite local big trees, a Douglas-fir snag of epic proportions. It is kind of a shame that it is only the bottom 12 metres, as this must have been a massive specimen before it was snapped off in a wind storm some time in the past.

Still, it remains impressive even with the little that is left. There are not many trees, snags or still living, of this size left in the town of Sooke. And as development rapidly changes the face of this formerly rural town, more big trees are coming down.

Sooke does not have a tree protection bylaw like some of its neighbours in the Western Communities. Esquimalt's tree protection bylaw for example, recognizes that "it is in the public interest to provide for the protection and preservation of trees, the regulation of their cutting and removal, and their replacement". That is some kind of forward thinking for a variety of reasons. Big tree tourism is one of them, and one that this blog promotes.

Big tree tourists may be amazed to find that the mossy, furrowed, fire-scared bark of the Douglas-fir above is almost a foot thick at the base. Small fires over the hundreds of years this old timer lived would not have threatened its asbestos-like covering. Its canopy would have been far, far above the flames beyond reach. Imagine the entire Sooke area covered in these monumental fire-resistant giants.

Development in Sooke and south Vancouver Island, combined with intensive industrial logging have decimated the ancient forest. While it is almost extinct, it is nice to know that there are still some ancient holdouts scattered throughout the area waiting to be found. The tree above, residing in an area where development is closing in on all sides, is one of them.

Visit This Tree
I am not sure how far along the Sooke River the official Sunriver Nature Trail extends. Following the trail you will not see any signage indicating you have left the park, so I figure it is alright. However, as far as I know the trail may extend into private property. Either way please hike respectfully. Stay on the designated trail, don't leave anything behind, and try to leave the area in better shape than you found it. Enjoy the trees.


View Sooke River Douglas-fir Snag in a larger map

Sooke Big Trees - Phillips Road/Sunriver Park

Along the Sooke river on the Phillips Road side there are patches of old forest dominated by a few centuries old giant trees. Some the Douglas-fir are among the largest I have seen in the town area, as is one of the old growth cedars growing on the riverbank.



Here you will also find large Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, fir, red alder and Bigleaf maple. These big trees are in Sun River Nature Park, accessed from Phillips Road just past the T intersection with Sunriver Way. On the river side of Phillips Rd. is a trail head that will take you to these trees.






The thick bark on Douglas fir can separate from the tree and fall. Many loggers have been killed over the years by falling chunks of bark. I guess a bike helmet comes in handy here, although a sheet of bark coming from a hundred feet up is going to do some serious damage, regardless.





This tree shows its age in the deeply furrowed bark as well as the excavations in it dug by birds searching for insects.







In addition to insect holes, you can also see fire scars on these ancient trees. Douglas fir bark is so thick that it acts as fire-proofing for the tree. Older trees have bark up to 30 cm/12 inches thick at the base.

Cedars: Old Timers Of The Ancient Forest

Western red and yellow cedars are the longest lived trees in the ancient coastal forest. Many of these eon-busting trees have been documented to be over 1500 years old and going strong. Older individuals are difficult to date accurately because the core of older cedars is often hollow. As the centuries pass, each tree takes on a grandly buttressed and spiky-topped character.


These persistent survivors only grow to great age in ancient forests that have been fire-free and undisturbed for a long time. Some areas along the Pacific coast have not seen large fires for up to four thousand years due to the wet and humid conditions.


The map to the right shows the range of the Western red cedar. All of Vancouver Island is prime growing territory - is a record-breaking monster cedar lurking here, yet to be discovered? Tree experts think that may be the case, and hope that the loggers don't beat them to such a tree before they discover it.





It is conceivable that some cedars have continued to live and grow for over 2000 years. No other tree lives as long in this forest. In old age these magnificent trees also become the largest tree amongst the old growth. The record cedar contains enough wood to build five 1000 sq ft houses.








Nolan Creek Cedar

As of 2009, the three largest known western red cedar were:

1. Quinalt Lake Cedar (Quinalt Lake Rain Forest-Olympic National Park) 17,650 Cubic feet
2. Cheewhat Lake Cedar (West Coast Vancouver Island-Pacific Rim National Park) 15,870 Cubic feet
3. Nolan Creek Cedar (Nolan Creek) 15,330 Cubic feet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuja_plicata
   

As a Western red cedar ages the crown form changes (see top diagram). The first few centuries the crown is uniform. It is only with great age that individual character and spiky, or candelabra, tops emerge. Such uniquely-shaped cedars are often seen in ancient stands.

"Cedar often has a candelabra-like appearance, because the top leader dies, as do the side branches that take over. The reason for this is not really understood, but it may be a lack of nutrients caused by growing in wet, acidic soils or perhaps drought stress caused by a shortage of oxygen to the roots, which makes it difficult for the tree to take up water."

Quinalt Lake Cedar

The largest cedar in Sunriver Park along the Sooke River has a top that is difficult to see due to surrounding forest. Yesterday, while photographing a Big leaf maple just starting to bud out, I noticed a candelabra cedar top poking up from the forest.



When I got home and started looking at the photos on my computer I was amazed that I had never noticed this feature of the forest before.

Cheewhat Cedar, Pacific Rim National Park

There it was - the top of the old cedar next to the trail. And it shows the typical characteristics of an older-timer. The candelabra top lends more evidence to my feeling that the cedar is a very old tree.

I will be watching for candelabra topped cedars on my upcoming tree adventures. Such sculpted tops truly are badges of honour for these longest living, largest trees of the coastal rain forest.

Giant Douglas-fir In Sooke

This is the biggest Douglas fir I have found within the Sooke, B.C. town boundary. It is a healthy, robust specimen that is easily several hundred years old. Although I think it is within a park, it has a gravel pit on either side of it, one of which is still active and is getting closer to encroaching upon this ancient survivor all the time. Photo: by author

Sunriver Douglas-fir Snag

Big Leaf Maple

A magnificent hardwood species is mixed among the monumental softwoods of the Pacific forest. The Big leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) is a coastal broad-leafed tree which grows predominately in the southern coastal western hemlock biogeoclimatic zone. They grow in a narrow strip along the ocean from Alaska to California. Big leaf maple live an average of 200 years with 300+ not unheard of, and reach heights of 34m with a crown of equal width. While conifers are king (or queen) in the Pacific forest, the overlooked Big leaf maple is an important member of the court.

"It is so ubiquitous that many people, Douglas-fir tree farmers in particular, consider Big leaf maple to be a common and bothersome weed," says Mike Dubrasich, tree farmer, "but Big leaf maple is easy to grow, and on most sites it will out-grow any other native tree for the first twenty years."

Big leaf maple's preferred habitat is close to rivers or streams on gravely, moist soil, but it will also grow in dry areas. These trees can withstand temporary flooding and do well in nutrient-rich floodplains. The tree pictured is on the floodplain of the Sooke River, and grows in a field unchallenged by competitors. A bicycle is shown to provide scale.

When Big leaf maple grows in a forest, shaded by other trees, it develops a tall bole with no branching until 1/2 - 2/3 of the way up. Then a small crown grows above the single large trunk. These trees are increasingly valued in the forest industry since the single bole can provide larger pieces of wood.

Growing out in the open the maple's crown reaches its maximum  spread, and the bole splits into a multiplicity of branches just a couple of meters up.


The Big leaf maple featured here is in Sun River Nature Trail Park, a narrow park that stretches along the west bank of the Sooke River. It is accessed by a trail head off Philips Road, itself a gateway to big trees and beautiful vistas of the Sooke River valley and surrounding forest-cloaked hillsides.

The rough trail passes through a riparian forest of large Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, Western red cedar, and Hemlock. This flood-prone forest also has broad-leaf trees such as Red alder and Big leaf maple, and harbours bear, cougar, owl, and slug. Spawned out salmon fertilize this forest every fall. Valley bottom forests of Vancouver Island are the richest environments on the coast and the largest trees grow there. These valley bottoms are now mostly logged out.



Typical of a non-shaded maple, this tree has an expansive crown. Branching starts low on the trunk and spreads in all directions forming a massive green umbrella that almost touches the ground all the way around the perimeter. Big leaf maples can grow such a dense canopy of frizbee-sized leaves (up to 61 cm including the stalk) that only 1 to 2% of the light falling on the tree reaches the ground below. On a hot sunny day it was several degrees cooler in the shade of this glorious moss-covered giant. After some hard biking I was appreciative of the air conditioning. The soporific sun was held at bay and I felt revived.



Under the canopy of this tree were small tufts of grass and not much else. The huge leaves, when shed in the fall, will smother anything that tries to grow below the circumference of the crown. Also falling to the ground is a variety of epiphytic growth consisting of plants that live on other plants, but derive their nutrients from rain and the air, not the host.



Luxurious rain-soaked mosses adorn the branches of Big leaf maple. Lichen, as well as licorice ferns are also growing on the trees. Often this growth is so abundant that it weighs more than the leaves of the tree. When epiphytic growth falls to the ground it fertilizes the tree in exchange for providing a place to grow. Big leaf maple is a soil building species, and like Red alder, it improves the soil where it grows.

Although I do love standing, living trees, Big leaf maple is increasingly seen as a commercial product. It has a fine grain and is desired for furniture and instrument making. The market for figured wood (wavy, quilted, curly, flamed...) is growing as wood workers and instrument makers come to value this unique wood.

The Glimer Wood Company in Portland, Oregon sells specialty woods including Big leaf maple for instrument building. Their website shows chunk after chunk of amazing one of a kind blanks ready to be made into guitars, violins, mandolins and ukeleles. Unfortunately, instrument woods most in demand are those from trees older than 150 - 200 years. The wood from such trees is clear of knots with an even fine grain, and provides the resonance instrument makers and players alike enjoy.

As a guitar player, and tree lover, I experience some guilt about owning the remains of old growth trees such as Sitka spruce and Big leaf maple. The classical guitar shown here has a spruce soundboard and uses figured maple for the back and sides. The back is a book matched piece. This means that the maple blank was cut in half and "opened up" to show matching patterns. Looks beautiful, sounds great. Probably came from very old trees.

Trees are such a giving, and useful species. It is hard to imagine life without them. Is it even possible for large modern, developed societies to exist without trees? Forests are massive contributors to ecosystems around the world, providing us with benefits that can not be fully calculated, or replaced. Trees are also large contributors to economies around the world. I love the trees, but I love my guitars, too. Here is one group that is trying to resolve issues around dwindling supplies of instrument woods. Perhaps a donation will help soothe my conscience.

Not all uses of the Big leaf maple require killing them. Like its more famous eastern cousin, the Sugar maple (Acer saccarum), the Big leaf maple can also be used for making syrup. The sugar concentration in Acer macrophyllum is less than in Acer saccarum, so more sap must be collected to produce the same amount of syrup. At the BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan, one can learn all about Vancouver Island Big leaf maple syrup making during the Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival in February.

Today I will honour the generous Big leaf maple by spending some time beneath the shady branches of the tree featured above meditating on the gifts it bestows, living or otherwise. When I get home, I will compose a song about this harmonious hardwood, then perform it on the guitar that owes its life to the ultimate sacrifice made by individual, old trees. Thank you, trees.