Wilderness Areas are protected from human development and occur on federal public lands in the United States. They also are a category of wildlands, still natural in many ways.
I was headed up Denny Creek trail to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness when I caught a slight scent in the air. I rounded a corner to discover a wet depression in the forest floor filled with skunk cabbages shooting up flowering spikes. Some very impressive western cedar trees surrounded the depression. Two cedars were more … Read more
The forest along Denny Creek Trail in the Alpine Wilderness is a wonderful old growth hemlock dominated community. I was hiking up the trail a week ago and had to stop regularly to gaze at the massive trees, some several feet in diameter, and the complex understory. The sword ferns and bushes were only just … Read more
I found a large boulder along Ingalls Creek in Alpine Lakes Wilderness where I could sit to watch the light change as we passed through sunset into twilight. A mixture of cedars, Douglas firs, hemlocks over hung the creek. Vine maples, alders, serviceberry bordered the sides and a lush carpet of mosses, ferns and other … Read more
I was standing at the top of the beach among the drift logs when I heard the chatter notes of a Wilson’s Warbler in the bushes under the trees along the slope. I turned to see it jump from branch to branch singing as it searched for bugs. It made me think about how abrupt … Read more
I camped Saturday night (May 11) at Hoh Rainforest Campground along the Hoh River. The rain started about 9:30 in the evening. It was still twilight and the rain gave a soft cast to the landscape. The Hoh Valley receives more than 140 inches of rain a year. That is an incredible 12 feet of … Read more
Water has always fascinated me. How in liquid form, it is so critical for life, making up the majority of our bodies. Ice and running water plays a major role in shaping the landscape especially here where the last glaciation covered much of northern Washington under thousands of feet of ice. The water cycle from … Read more
The drift wood logs were piled on the beach like so many Lincoln logs or legos thrown in a pile along the edge of a rug. The differences being that these logs were massive in size. Some were several feet in diameter and dozens of yard long. I had to weave between logs and climb … Read more
The Boulder River Wilderness is nestled in the mountain just east of Arlington, Washington. I arrived a little before 6AM to hike the trail into the wilderness. The sun was cresting the tops of the mountains but it would be awhile before it reached the valley. I was hoping to see the landscape in the … Read more