1,000 year old Aptos tree falls

A historic piece of nature has been lost in Aptos, partly due to the severe storms our area has seen lately. If you’ve ever visited the forest of Nisene Marks, odds are you’ve seen the Advocate Tree towering over the park. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case anymore.

Last week, one of the massive storms to hit the Central Coast played a big part in knocking down the one-thousand-plus year old Advocate Tree. The tree was located on what was called “the old growth loop” and was often considered a conversation starter to the many people who came by to marvel at it’s beauty and sheer size. To locals who would come to regularly visit the tree, the loss is almost tragic.

“It’s part of my routine. I’m in this park a few times a week and I come to this tree a couple dozen times over the span of a year and just visit it when I need to feel good. Losing it, it’s just, I feel like I lost an old friend. It’s really, it’s been hard,” said Aptos History Museum Historian, Kevin Newhouse.

“I go out of my way to walk by it sometimes, it was just a really cool tree to see. I mean, I’m probably going to bring some flowers, or something, I and I don’t doubt for a second that I’ll find other little memorials left by that tree,” said hiker Larry Corridon.

The Aptos History Museum Historian says he’s not exactly sure what will happen to the tree now that it’s fallen, but he believes park officials might just clean it up a bit and let it rest where it has fallen, simply because of how massive it is.

On a positive note, as sad as locals and visitors are to see the old giant meet it’s demise, they’re glad that it wasn’t due to vandalism or any other type of human interference. The Advocate Tree simply fell because nature decided it was time.