A Walk in the Forest

a walk in the forest

By:  Raj Arumugam

the forest takes one
for a quiet walk in the morning;
of oneself
and the solitude and the path and the trees
and the air and the stillness and the undefined sunlight;
a moment of lightness, an instant of calm;
did one come from the walk?

Once it stopped raining we decided to head out to the nearby 1.8 mile River Loop Trail.  We left the dogs on their own recognizance, tied on our trusty hiking boots and jet-setted out to our agreed upon rendezvous point.

What a delightful stroll through the forest this ended up to be.  Here I am at the entrance to the trail pointing the way so we don’t get lost!

This lush, primordial woodland reminded both Gary and me of our Hoh Rain Forest hike, just as lush, although the rain forest gets about 40 more inches of rain a year than this area.  By the time you finish with this blog, you may be questioning my sanity because I got carried away with moss-filled pictures.  There were just so many stunning, sumptuous, scenic areas on this hike I had a hard time not taking a photo.

We are just beginning our hike, and I had Gary stop mid-trail so I could take his picture.  You need to compare the lushness of the woodland here at the beginning of the hike with the photos once we are further in.  You will see that the further in we get the forest transitions into a more heavily wooded timberland and moss-blanketed, fern-laden forest floor.

 

This next series of photos gives you more of an idea of the beauty we experienced on this verdant footpath.

 

 

 

 

 

I got “stumped”!  There were so many moss-covered stumps in the forest and they all displayed their exquisiteness so uniquely.  New growth spurting out from the top and sides of the remnants, exemplifies the forest regrowth lifecycle.

 

 

 

I named this part of the trail “Fern Freeway”.  The trail is lined with luxuriant ferns and trees dripping with moss.

Tired of moss yet?  Well, too bad, because here’s more moss ... and Gary clowning around!

 

 

Check out this tree.  It had a hollow interior.  Gary asked if I wanted to stand inside for a picture … heck no!  How do I know what’s lurking inside that tree???

 
We finally made it to the Skagit River (thus the River Loop Trail name).  It runs rapidly through the forest below Newhalem.  The river had this mist hanging along the opposite shoreline that I was able to catch.  It was a bit eerie.  While we were standing on the river’s edge, it was actually moving toward us!  So very cool.

 

This photo was taken by the river's edge through the trees.  I love the way the clouds hang low over the mountains.  This was a "normal" look in the Cascades.

Check out nature’s design on this forest tree!  Isn’t that incredible?

And, because I love the sound of a river rumbling, this short video clip will hopefully give you an opportunity to hear the sound of the waters, the voice of the Lord!

 

Psalms 29:3-4 // The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD is over many waters.  The voice of the LORD is powerful, the voice of the LORD is majestic.