Kayaking deep in a swamp along North Carolina’s Black River leads to a bald cypress that’s over 2,600 years old—older than the Roman Empire, the Great Wall of China, and even the birth of Jesus Christ.
This ancient tree started growing in 600 BCE and has quietly recorded millennia of floods, droughts, and climate shifts within its rings.
Guided by members of the local Coharie Tribe, a sacred journey to the tree reveals more than just natural beauty—it’s a call to protect old-growth forests and honor the rich indigenous history of the land.
Also, scientists say this tree provides one of the longest climate records in the world, reminding us of what we can learn when we slow down and listen to the water and the woods.
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