Back in May, I posted about a Sitka Spruce found along the Oregon coast. Thought it was in the 706 point range the day it was discovered: Falcon's Tower. Returning to the coast today, I stopped for a preliminary measure of the same tree again, but with help. 747 points @ 222' feet. 12 feet taller than expected. The notes are on this page:
The oregon coast has beautiful trees. I worked out there for a year and it was amazing. Post the location when you decide on witch tree is going to be nominated please. I would love to go and see it for myself.
The Oregon Big Tree Registry guys just went out to this tree yesterday. Based on how it's measured, odds are there's no way it can be precisely compared to the Cape Meares, which, for example, was measured at actual average DBH (splitting high and low) and included 2 big burls in the tape wrap, adding the bulges.
For Falcon's Tower spruce, the first tape wrap was done higher, about 5 feet above average DBH, at 17.5' above the lowest reach of the trunk, and over a giant fin shaped buttress root that juts into the hillside. Another wrap was done closer to average DBH, but I don't expect the 2nd to be factored-in. Here's photo of the first tape wrap.
More than one tree vole nest was found too, which was an interesting bonus for the day.
Falcon's Tower was measured accurately with a tape, top to bottom for 219 feet, 3' under the preliminary 222' on the nomination form. Cape Meares is roughly 144'.
The canopy spread (worth 1/4 crown points) for Falcon's Tower was measured according to guess-work (eyeballing to stand below high limb tips, with but with no device or tool to gauge accuracy.
A laser rangefinder using the HD setting, in the canopy would probably be the way to go. Because even using photos like I posted earlier, that has margin for error too. As Michael Taylor keeps saying, "lasers don't lie".
Here's a trunk wrap on the Cape Meares spruce, the current Oregon champion Sitka spruce. The wrap includes a bit of the flared buttress parts. This added extra circumference points for several protruding parts.
