Humboldt County reaches new heights in an award-winning documentary from Sonoma-based explorer/filmmaker Steve Hall.
“In Search of the Tallest: A Redwoods Adventure” — which runs one hour, 41 minutes — introduces people to the “fascinating world of tree searching” and also to some stunning natural sites within the redwood parks of the North Coast.
“(There is a) sense of awe and wonder that is felt when standing underneath these trees and (at) the thought that entire ecosystems live within the branches and canopies high above,” Hall said.
“There is nothing else like the redwoods which can be found on our planet. Walking among these trees, which can be several thousand years old, helps me feel closer to our Creator and appreciate his qualities of love, wisdom and power.”
“In Search of the Tallest” is Hall’s personal story of becoming a tree searcher. In 2011, he became the third person or group to find Hyperion, the tallest tree in the world, which is located in Redwood National and State Parks. A year later, Hall became the second person or group to find Helios, the second tallest tree, found in Redwood National Park.
By 2013, he had been to all of the Top 10 tallest trees.
The objective of Hall’s latest film was to return 10 years later to visit these same grand trees once again.
“My hope was to show people how special these trees were so they could develop an appreciation for them and see the need to protect them and keep them safe,” he said. “I wanted to encourage everyone to support the National Park Service and state parks in their efforts to protect the trees and see the need to follow all park rules.”
In 2023, Hall took his 11-year-old son, Stefan, with him as they ventured out into the North Coast wilds to see as many of these trees as they could safely reach. Father and child have taken many adventures together over the years, including backpacking on Santa Cruz Island and along the Trans-Catalina Trail, as well as hiking in American Samoa, French Polynesia and on Easter Island.
“The film centers around bringing my … son Stefan with me so that he can experience the excitement and challenge of finding and visiting the Top 10 tallest trees in the world.
“My son really enjoyed the experience of backpacking down Redwood Creek for three days from Tall Trees Grove to the Redwood Creek Trailhead,” Hall said. “The terrain is mostly flat as you are walking through the creek and alongside the creek the entire time. He especially enjoyed taking breaks to go swimming in the creek when we found large pools of water. … However, Stefan did not enjoy the bushwhacking and tree searching aspect as much, because that proved to be much more challenging of an activity. That’s definitely not for everyone and it is not something that I am recommending for the general public due to the dangers involved for the inexperienced.”
Hall says that “half of the Top 10 tallest trees are located in Humboldt Redwoods State Park and the other half are located in Redwood National Park.”
“The locations of two of the 10 remain unpublished,” he noted, “thus I had to take steps in the film to maintain their secrecy. However, it is not necessary to specifically search out the tallest trees in order to appreciate the majesty of the redwoods. For most people, just planning a trip to any of the national or state redwoods parks in Humboldt County will allow them to do that. Because when you’re out there in the forest, from the ground it doesn’t make much of a difference if a tree is 330 feet or 380 feet. You can’t tell the difference without using a laser rangefinder. So, if this film captures the imagination of anyone, I’d encourage them to just go out there and hike the established trails in the redwoods parks where they will be surrounded by towering redwood trees.”
Hall — who has made several documentary films over the years — says he initially got into filmmaking to “try to do a better job of showcasing what it is like to hike through beautiful places in the world.”
“In the past, I had shared hikes through written descriptions and photographs,” Hall said. “But, I found that using film was a superior way to do this.”
In 2020, Hall released his first full-length film, titled “Last Chance Solo: A Death Valley Adventure.” That was followed up in 2021 with “Baffin Island: An Arctic Adventure.”
“The Baffin Island film was very successful and has been viewed by over 180,000 people so far. Both films won multiple awards at film festivals worldwide.”
Last year, Hall released a six-part series on “Hiking American Samoa” and, in October 2023, he debuted “In Search of the Tallest: A Redwoods Adventure,” which has also done well at film festivals, winning the Best Nature Film award at the New York International Film Awards, Best Documentary accolades at the Los Angeles Film Awards, Best Nature Film honors at the Oniros Film Awards and Best Documentary Feature and Best Indie Filmmaker recognition at the Festigious International Film Festival.
Hall says that because the new film is non-commercial and was made out of his “love and appreciation for the redwoods,” it is available to view for free at https://youtu.be/i6CWWkH10II?si=QBwHMWwLZuCizYIZ. (One can access many of his other filmmaking projects via this link as well.)
“All of my filming done in national parks and state parks is entirely non-commercial and free to view,” Hall said. “There are no ads, sponsors or anything of the like.”
