This sequoia tree in Yosemite was ~1,800 years old when Carleton Watkins made this photo in 1865, which is like 5 years ago to a sequoia.

It could easily live another 1,000 years.

The man with the tree is Galen Clark, a carpenter who went head-over-heels for sequoias after his first encounter. He became the first guardian of Yosemite in 1864 (when President Lincoln transferred the land to California as a reserve) and kept the job for 24 years.

Clark thought he was going to die of TB when, in his 40s, he decided to live among the sequoias. He thrived, helped Yosemite gain protected status, adventured with Muir and Emerson. At age 93, he published a charming book about his beloved trees.