Tag: Wonderland Trail

Bursting Forth

A close-up view of the bark of an old tree along the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park

I love the cracked bark of old trees, it almost looks like there is another tree inside trying to burst forth. I love the texture and colors of a tree that first sprang from the earth long before I was born and will likely be around long after I’m gone. And I love how when you look closer you see the tiny spider webs and the delicate lichen and realize there are little worlds existing within this small section of this giant tree, which is just one tree in a large forest circling a massive volcano, and you feel lucky to just be standing there, a part of one little story next to a tree that could tell thousands.

Face in the Forest

A tree that reminds me of an Olmec head

I hiked a section of the Wonderland Trail on my last full day in Mount Rainier National Park. I was exhausted from hiking on previous days with my heavy telephoto lens, and though I left it behind on this hike, the trail was an uphill slog through the forest and it was raining heavily. Making matters worse, most of the camera gear I hike with is old with no weather-sealing. Plus I discovered the hard way that my trusty old hiking boots were no longer waterproof. The clouds were so low I couldn’t even see the mountain when I reached a clearing up top, so my spirits were a little low.

On the hike back down I made myself stop and adjust my attitude. I love hiking in forests and decided my little camera was coming out in the rain, and if it died, it died. I started photographing bark and moss and was having a good time and couldn’t resist a picture of this tree that reminded me of an Olmec head (I always think of the one Mr. Burns gives Bart on the Simpsons).