I’ve spent time in old growth forests before. I’ve even visited older, more pristine for
I’ve spent time in old growth forests before. I’ve even visited older, more pristine forests. But the weeks I spent in the Columbia Gorge working on the Gate Creek Fault gave me a new appreciation for isolated pockets of old growth in otherwise developed areas. The complete silence of this grove is what struck me most. Just a couple miles north is the busiest transportation corridor in the northwest. Just a mile south is the boundary of the working Mt Hope National Forest. But here in the upper reaches of Lindsey Creek, giant trees swayed with the record-setting wind gusts and suppressed the sounds from the world creating a silent enclave in the heart of a busy forest. The old growth groves have their own climate, and generally very little undergrowth so you can walk and see through the forest without much obstruction. The fallen trees were most impressive, and standing abreast fallen old growth cedar and fir gives scale to their girth. Old growth is worth protecting. I’m glad the loggers didn’t get all of it. There is old growth left within a short drive of Portland, if you have the tenacity to hike there and the patience to look. https://www.instagram.com/p/CKlDMibFMnr/?igshid=1cwcsv4rg83wm -- source link