Photo Source: National Geographic
Sometimes the journey is greater than the destination. That’s the real-life lesson learned in the latest episode of the Overheard at National Geographic podcast titled “The Tree at the End of the World.” A team of National Geographic Explorers set out on a quest to find the southernmost tree in the world back in 2019.
Writer Craig Welch was along for the journey to Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America where the seas are treacherous and thousands of sailors have perished trying to reach the shores. Facing brutal winds, the writer who claims to have an average person’s level of caution and fear discovered the trip of a lifetime, even if the final outcome wasn’t so spectacular.
The journey to Cape Horn involved several plane rides and a few boat trips. As treacherous as the final leg may have been, Craig Welch was enchanted by dolphins swimming alongside the boat and rockhopper penguins. And the arrival at Cape Horn sounds like something out of a movie with the black rocky shores appearing out of the mist.
Ecologist Brian Buma was leading the expedition to study how forests have changed over time in changing climates and few forests are in more extreme conditions than on Cape Horn. As you get closer to the South Pole, the trees stop growing and studying the edge of an ecosystem has broader scientific benefits. For the adventurous Ecologist who prefers spending time in the wilderness, finding the southernmost tree in the world was checking off a bucket list item.
Along with a team of scientists that included botanists, archeologists, and ecologists, Craig Welch and Brian Burma started their arrival with a four mile uphill hike through shrub-covered ground with camping gear in tow to their base camp. With extreme winds, one of the tents was destroyed, forcing the team to camp in closer quarters than planned. But for the miserable start, the trip improved.
Brian Buma discovered a mediating penguin, whom he named Steve. The penguins also helped Archaeologist Flavia Morello, who found evidence of indiginous peoples who lived on the island centuries ago thanks to the tracks penguins leave behind. The island was reportedly inhabited for thousands of years and this is just the beginning of discovering how people used to live on Cape Horn.
Back to the expedition's main purpose of finding the southernmost tree on earth, forests on Cape Horn are strange. In some places, they grow very mangled due to high winds. In others, they grow completely sideways out of the ground. But trees get smaller towards the edges of a natural forest and the southernmost tree on earth is smaller than shrubs that surround it. The team used GPS to ensure that the tree they were looking at was further south than the other edges of the forest they had charted.
They started out looking for the southernmost tree in the world and they found it, small as it may be. But the real excitement of the trip was the journey. While Craig Welch was more than happy to return home, the memories of the trip far eclipse the reason they set out on the expedition in the first place.
You can listen to this unique conservation story and read a transcript on the official website for the Overheard at National Geographic podcast.