One of the things I love best about living on an island is having an ancient and beautiful forest close by. We have so many opportunities for day hikes without the long drive. The state park on the south end of the island is one of my favorites places to walk in the woods. Until a couple of years ago, it was a camp ground too. The trees here are huge and many of them are over 500 years old.
They are magnificent!
Nature reclaims herself quickly. It’s hard to believe large RV’s once wound their way around the narrow roadways, and noisy children road their bikes along these paths. Now, it’s a ghost forest. I only occasional meet another hiker or dog walker wandering here though overgrown camp sites. The campground closed after a large windstorm what left the park unsafe for campers. The choice was whether to cut many ancient trees or close the camp area. I always side with the trees. This time, the forest service did too.
I love walking in this beautiful forest when I am trying to figure out a problem with my sculpting, or when I need inspiration for a new project. It’s my favorite place to walk and to be when I am feeling a lot of anxiety in my life.
We found the Wilbert trail by accident one winter afternoon. A recent wind storm had blown trees across the other trail we usually followed down to a secluded beach. One really lovely things is because this is a state park, dogs are allowed on their leashes. We always hate to leave our dog, Chloe, home when we are going for a hike, even though we often end up carrying her back after she gets tired out! The highlight of this trail is the ancient Western Red Cedar that saved this beautiful forest.
Back in the 70’s loggers came to the island to cut the last of the old growth trees down on the south end. But lead by a husband and wife, Mary and Meryl Wilbert, through the organization, Save the Trees, the islanders literally wrapped themselves around these ancient giants. Their actions not only saved those trees, but over 255 acres of beautiful forest that is now a state park.
You can’t get to the ancient cedar anymore because of a new threat to it. The threat of too much love and attention. The soil around the base of the tree has become compacted because so many people walked around it. Now there is a rail about 10 feet away and we have to admire it from here. There is a small bench nearby where I love to sit for a while and enjoy its peaceful energy. Like giant Sitka Spruce trees down on the southern Washington coast, these trees were already giants when Lewis and Clarke first arrived at the Pacific Ocean.
It really makes you think about longetity and how short our human life spans are. We only have a small about of time to accomplish our goals and make a difference.
Another part of this beautiful forest that I love is a boggy area where the water runs under the roots. You can hear it moving under the ground and in places it bubbles up in small streams and pools.
One of the cedars has a root that curls out in front of it making the perfect spot to sit and listen to the water moving beneath. Another is almost as large as the Wilbert tree, but about 15 feet off the ground, it splits and a large branch comes off the side of it. It took me a while to realize that it wasn’t a branch at all but a Doulas Fir tree living symbiotically off of the Cedar. The Western Red Cedar leans in the one direction and the Doug Fir to the other. I suspect it is the weight of this fir tree that keeps them both from toppling over. I love to stop on this part of the trail, lean my back against them, and feel the energy of these ancient giants flow into my heart.
On a walk with my son recently, he told me about how he had learned in school that scientists have detected that trees have a measurable heartbeat. It turns out trees have a heartbeat too. At night they move their branches up and down like a pump in slow cycles the scientists have only just discovered. It corresponds with the uptake of water moving toward the top of the tree through the trees veins which are called tracheids.
Deep in this beautiful forest, these are my favorite trees.
The last photo above is the Norwegian Spruce that my father planted the first Christmas in our new house. When my mom finally had to sell our family home, her next door neighbors decided to sue her because we (well, me actually) had refused to cut it down for years. It was ruining their plan to pave a wide asphalt driveway all the way to her property line. I couldn’t watch the day that tree was cut down, and I never wanted to drive by the house again. That was a battle I lost. But it doesn’t mean that I won’t go to war for the Ents again. Some people even believe the trees are waking up.
This last Christmas we planted a new Norwegian Spurce in our yard. One that will never be cut down by nasty neighbors. And along with the Redwoods I’ve planted here, someday this will be an ancient and beautiful forest.
So I challenge you, what do you care about passionately? What would you do if you knew that your one small voice or action could make a difference? Be like the islanders who saved a beautiful forest. We don’t win all of our battles. But if we don’t even try, we’ve already lost. Arbor Day is on this coming Friday. Go hug a tree!