From the category archives:

Navitat Habitat

A San Andreas Fault Pine Tree Survives Massive Earthquakes and a Lightning Strike

The Navitat Wrightwood property is full of unique stories and history.   One story we think is especially cool is the story of a magnificent tree that rests at the base of our property only a few hundred feet away from the San Andreas Fault. (The fault line runs right across the front edge our our property!)

This handsome Jeffrey pine that we’ve dubbed “Old Andy” is a true testament to the strength and stability of trees. According to the local forest service, this particular tree survived the Southern California earthquake of 1812 registering a magnitude of 7.5 and then the  earthquake of 1857 registering a 7.9!  WOW!

“How do they know the tree was in the earthquake so long ago?” you may be thinking. Well, they measure ring widths under a binocular microscope using a dial caliper and examine all significant departures from normal growth trends and interpret them taking all possible environmental factors into account during a given year.  Btw, for those of you that aren’t into math, this means that “Old Andy” is well over 200 years old! And he’s got the scars to prove it!!

After hearing of “Old Andy’s” determined longevity and strength maybe you will feel even more secure to know that the Navitat course is ENTIRELY tree-based.  (click here to learn how Navitat is different from other canopy tours) The trees are the supporting structure for our zipline cables and our platforms.  Not only that, but we do everything we can to minimize our impact on these trees! We use growth blocks to separate the cables from the trees. (no tree stranglers here, just tree huggers) We also have Arborists come to our property and check the health of the trees periodically.  Uh-huh, that’s right. We CARE about these trees! They are our livelihood here at Navitat, so it makes sense that we would want to treat them with the utmost care and respect. Plus, they’re beautiful.

If you’re interested in exploring this amazing property while traversing ziplines, crossing bridges,  and learning more about these old growth pine trees that are saturated in history, head on over to our website and

BOOK YOUR TOUR NOW!

(source: http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~sieh/pubs_docs/papers/P80a.pdf)

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Boy Scout Troop Earns Their Science Badge by Visiting Navitat

A Local Wrightwood Boy Scout Troop visited Navitat recently to explore the property and learn about the environment from Navitat Wrightwood’s Interpretive  Programming Leader, Sean Hennessy, (yellow helmet) to complete their Science Badge.  Sean talked to the eager listeners about all things science related; from the specific tree and plant species on site, to the earthquake fault line that runs through the property,to edible plants,  to of course, the most interesting topic for 10-12 year old boys… SNAKES! Sean told us later that these boys  already had some great knowledge about the local environment and asked intelligent questions that rivaled questions we get from our adult guests! Awesome!

The scouts were also interested in learning about Navitat’s approach to  sustainability.   They examined the construction of the course platforms made from cor-ten steel and the growth blocks separating the zip line cables from the trees, which ensure that the trees are able to continue to grow and stay healthy.  They took note of the carefully constructed trails and the intentional reuse of wood throughout the course.

All in all, everyone had a great time and the boys can’t wait until they weigh 90 lbs and can come back and view the environment from the tops of the trees on our canopy tour!

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Minimizing our Environmental Impact at Navitat

3 Cs that Make a Difference…Corn Cup Composting!

Since our canopy tour lasts 3.5-4 hours, it is necessary for us to have 2 water stations along the way to make sure our guests stay hydrated. Although hydration is GREAT, it does mean that we have to provide cups to drink out of. We needed a solution for minimizing environmental impact and decided that using 100% Compostable Cups made from Corn would help. However, even though the cups are biodegradable, we realized to truly minimize our impact, we needed to be composting them as well. It didn’t take long for us to find a local farmer to gladly accept our corn cups for composting. Moonstruck Farms, in nearby Phelan, CA, provides the community with all kinds of great local farm fresh food! They were thrilled to use our corn cups for Composting and we were thrilled to have a place to take them!!!!

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