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Many question the reasons for our absorption with hiking and the wilderness experience. Al encapsulates the feelings with a silent music, reaching to the depths of sensitivity and touching soul in all who tread the trails.
"Getting up on hiking day I'm really energized and excited about the possibility of the total experience. This is what I was born to do, that which is so rewarding to all my sensations. The exercise, spiritual connection and moments of silent stillness allow even the commonly missed sounds of wilderness as they awaken those senses so dormant elsewhere."
"There is a certain effortlessness in walking through a forest when one is so consumed by the many connections from beginning to end. After eighteen years of hiking, those wonderful senses continue to grow more deeply profound.
"I look upon the forest as a place of peace where one can be free of human defined stresses. One can see, hear, smell and touch all the simple beauty of balance that has taken perhaps millions of years to develop into this orchestration of delicate strength and massive quietness. Each living part of the wilderness has an important function, very necessary for the continuing health of the whole. I never cease to be enthralled by the beauty of even the smallest flower or the wonder of a huge and health old growth tree."
TREASURES OF THE FOREST
It's the unexpected, the surprises and newness in each unfolding hike that without notice leaves you breathless and exhilarated. Like the time we were returning from a summer hike on Herman Creek in the gorge and stood in frozen awe while a small group of elk, silently and in single file, made their way through the brushy forest in a canyon just below our trail. I don't think either Al or I breathed during the entire five minutes of this amazing spectacle.
Another time while driving back roads around Mt. Adams in Washington State on the way to a trailhead, a huge male elk with a massive rack of horns bounded across the road in front of us. Leaping quickly to the opposing bank, he then stood motionless, glaring down upon us with a look of defiance as if to challenge our intrusion into his wild domain. Indeed, we had trespassed and were sternly chastised for doing so - an unforgettable moment. On the same day, we encountered a black bear that couldn't get to a nearby tree fast enough, but presented quite a sight loping along through the woods parallel to the road.
Wildflowers are anticipated, but the particular species found can be surprising. Blooming begins in early March and continues through the summer at higher elevations creating an "eternal spring" through the warm months. The flowers we see in lowland forest areas in March can still be found in summer at higher levels just as the snowmelt begins. We greet these lovely treasures of the forest, meadow and alpine ridges as old friends each year, and rave at the seemingly infinite number of species that are new to us each season. In the Columbia River gorge and mountain areas in the Cascades, numerous species are endemic, occurring nowhere else in the world.
A favorite early spring delight is to find our first calypso orchid of the year. This tiny, delicately fragile and unbelievably elegant species is so representative of the incongruence found the the vastly harsh forest environment. That this fairy like orchid can survive in such surroundings seems largely incomprehensible.
Bird species also vary according to elevation, diversity of habitat and time of year. We love each season to watch the nutcrackers on the flanks of Mt. Hood and, deep in the forest, to hear the pileated woodpecker's call and, hopefully, catch a glimpse of the large, secretive and wary bird.
Dippers, grayish/brown robin-sized birds, can be found in the rushing streams of most Pacific Northwest forest swimming underwater for their prey and nesting in the surrounding banks. Their characteristic "dipping" action is seen frequently as they hop about the rocks, in and out of the water.
Each spring, the first melodic calls from swainsons thrushes bring a rush of delight as they whistle their rapturous and metallic songs through the forest canopy.
Ospreys migrate to the Pacific Northwest and can reliably be seen nesting on river markers jutting up from the Columbia River in the gorge. Often it is seen flying overhead with a firm grasp on a small silver fish positioned in the osprey's talons with its head facing forward. It seems these birds are also familiar with aerodynamics. Such a regal and welcome guests they are.
We occasionally snowshoe in winter when the mountains are reborn with snow-domed, lofty peaks, and frosty while forests luxuriate in their long gowns of winter. Rabbit tracks and imprints of other light-footed creatures of the forest floor imprint an untouched, early morning mantle of fluffy new snow - such quiet elegance.
Seasons change familiar trails to another dimension of imagery, altering the landscape from bright spring and summer wildflowers to blazing autumn hues, blueberry meadows, and numerous species of showy mushrooms.
Our wilderness is a landscape photographer's paradise. Hiking along the trail, a composition will suddenly appear and literally "stop you in your tracks" with its stunning perfection and incredible beauty. To not have a camera at hand during those encounters is painful. To capture the moment is bliss.
This material is copyrighted by the blog authors and may not be reproduced or used in any manner without express written permission by the authors.
"Getting up on hiking day I'm really energized and excited about the possibility of the total experience. This is what I was born to do, that which is so rewarding to all my sensations. The exercise, spiritual connection and moments of silent stillness allow even the commonly missed sounds of wilderness as they awaken those senses so dormant elsewhere."
"There is a certain effortlessness in walking through a forest when one is so consumed by the many connections from beginning to end. After eighteen years of hiking, those wonderful senses continue to grow more deeply profound.
"I look upon the forest as a place of peace where one can be free of human defined stresses. One can see, hear, smell and touch all the simple beauty of balance that has taken perhaps millions of years to develop into this orchestration of delicate strength and massive quietness. Each living part of the wilderness has an important function, very necessary for the continuing health of the whole. I never cease to be enthralled by the beauty of even the smallest flower or the wonder of a huge and health old growth tree."
TREASURES OF THE FOREST
It's the unexpected, the surprises and newness in each unfolding hike that without notice leaves you breathless and exhilarated. Like the time we were returning from a summer hike on Herman Creek in the gorge and stood in frozen awe while a small group of elk, silently and in single file, made their way through the brushy forest in a canyon just below our trail. I don't think either Al or I breathed during the entire five minutes of this amazing spectacle.
Another time while driving back roads around Mt. Adams in Washington State on the way to a trailhead, a huge male elk with a massive rack of horns bounded across the road in front of us. Leaping quickly to the opposing bank, he then stood motionless, glaring down upon us with a look of defiance as if to challenge our intrusion into his wild domain. Indeed, we had trespassed and were sternly chastised for doing so - an unforgettable moment. On the same day, we encountered a black bear that couldn't get to a nearby tree fast enough, but presented quite a sight loping along through the woods parallel to the road.
Wildflowers are anticipated, but the particular species found can be surprising. Blooming begins in early March and continues through the summer at higher elevations creating an "eternal spring" through the warm months. The flowers we see in lowland forest areas in March can still be found in summer at higher levels just as the snowmelt begins. We greet these lovely treasures of the forest, meadow and alpine ridges as old friends each year, and rave at the seemingly infinite number of species that are new to us each season. In the Columbia River gorge and mountain areas in the Cascades, numerous species are endemic, occurring nowhere else in the world.
A favorite early spring delight is to find our first calypso orchid of the year. This tiny, delicately fragile and unbelievably elegant species is so representative of the incongruence found the the vastly harsh forest environment. That this fairy like orchid can survive in such surroundings seems largely incomprehensible.
Bird species also vary according to elevation, diversity of habitat and time of year. We love each season to watch the nutcrackers on the flanks of Mt. Hood and, deep in the forest, to hear the pileated woodpecker's call and, hopefully, catch a glimpse of the large, secretive and wary bird.
Dippers, grayish/brown robin-sized birds, can be found in the rushing streams of most Pacific Northwest forest swimming underwater for their prey and nesting in the surrounding banks. Their characteristic "dipping" action is seen frequently as they hop about the rocks, in and out of the water.
Each spring, the first melodic calls from swainsons thrushes bring a rush of delight as they whistle their rapturous and metallic songs through the forest canopy.
Ospreys migrate to the Pacific Northwest and can reliably be seen nesting on river markers jutting up from the Columbia River in the gorge. Often it is seen flying overhead with a firm grasp on a small silver fish positioned in the osprey's talons with its head facing forward. It seems these birds are also familiar with aerodynamics. Such a regal and welcome guests they are.
We occasionally snowshoe in winter when the mountains are reborn with snow-domed, lofty peaks, and frosty while forests luxuriate in their long gowns of winter. Rabbit tracks and imprints of other light-footed creatures of the forest floor imprint an untouched, early morning mantle of fluffy new snow - such quiet elegance.
Seasons change familiar trails to another dimension of imagery, altering the landscape from bright spring and summer wildflowers to blazing autumn hues, blueberry meadows, and numerous species of showy mushrooms.
Our wilderness is a landscape photographer's paradise. Hiking along the trail, a composition will suddenly appear and literally "stop you in your tracks" with its stunning perfection and incredible beauty. To not have a camera at hand during those encounters is painful. To capture the moment is bliss.
This material is copyrighted by the blog authors and may not be reproduced or used in any manner without express written permission by the authors.
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