...I could not resist you, so I joined you. I wanted to be closer to more trees and mountains, never ending trees and mountains. Some say it rains a lot here, but I, just like Lao Tzu, can only rejoice the life-giving matter feeding this green into Ever: “The highest good is like Water, for the good of water is that it nourishes everything” - Lao Tzu (Chinese Tao master).
Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, aspen, Western redcedar, Engelmann spruce, white oak, Pacific yew, hemlock, ash and many other trees, some hundreds of years old, part of most valuable old-growth forests on the planet can (still) be found here. But the logging trucks work hard, and plenty of ugly mountain-sides, bald and eroding, bear witness to the never-ending recklessness and greed of humans. It’s Man against Tree, at its worst. I found it hard to choke my tears at the view of forest destruction in many parts of the Evergreen state. If you ever travel through here, be prepared to face hundreds of miles of clear-cuts and barren, sad hills, some just outside of the much talked about and protected parks of the Northwest, such as Olympic National Park, which is an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site! The rapacious cruelty and barbarism against trees are heart wrenching again. Maybe the rain falling here is nothing else but Nature’s tears, as she longs for her much beloved, fallen trees.
Despite the horror of clear-cutting, or just to show off what treasures it kills, the beautiful Nature of Washington state is so ever present and relentless. ...Relentless to grow, flourish, sprout, conquer every possible space and corner, impatient to cover green every already green tree or fallen wood... It is green over green, leaf over another leaf, moss over branches and lichens on every stone, massive or minuscule ferns at every step, and all seems so normally, expressively GREEN. The more rain, the more green, and it surely rains a lot in the Olympics. A temperate rain forest covers the most Western part of the Washington state and the Olympic Peninsula, a verdant, most awe-inspiring land.
The majesty of the North Cascades National Park is hard to describe in a few images or words. Its rugged, wild and vast ranges, pristine lakes and old forests can only be appreciated at foot, after many weeks of wondering. One of the most spectacular river systems coming from the glaciated highlands of North Cascades, Nooksack River runs at the base of Mt. Shuksan (The Roaring Mountain in the original Indian name) and Mt. Baker. Mt. Shuksan, one of the highest non-volcanic peaks in the Cascades, usually covered with glaciers and snow, reveals magnificent but dangerous basalt walls and peaks. It remains beautiful in all seasons.
Mountain goats, true champions of climbing, are native to Cascades and Rockies, but have also appeared in the Olympic Mountains. One good day in July we met a group of 28 goats up in the Seven Lakes Basin, who were friendly enough to approach us and then joined us on the trail for 2 hours! Curiously, we studied each other and decided we could hike together after all... Just like good friends. We share, mind you, the same love for heights and peaks. That love keeps us alive.
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