Sad news out of California this morning as reports come in that the famous Pioneer Cabin Tree, a giant sequoia in Calaveras Big Trees State Park that was tunneled through in the 1880s, has fallen due to severe winter weather. The tree was believed to be hundreds of years old.
The sequoia was made famous by the thousands of people that passed through it.
“The pioneer cabin tree was chosen because of its extremely wide base and large fire scar,” wrote park interpretive specialist Wendy Harrison in 1990. “A few branches bearing green foliage tell us that this tree is still managing to survive.”
The Calaveras Big Trees Association, however, offered a simple message on Facebook about the tree’s return to the earth it sprouted from so many years ago.
“This iconic and still living tree—the tunnel tree—enchanted many visitors,” wrote the association. “The storm was just too much for it.”