It
was a bright, sunny, just above freezing, happy New Year’s Day. The Ranger began describing our surroundings
and the trail we’d be hiking. This was an opening day Centennial celebration and the Park Ranger was going to give us a guided hike on the trails at beautiful Fort Townsend State Park. We were a small group of about a dozen hikers.
Two young boys swooped past their
parents. They darted in every direction
at once. It would be a challenge to keep up with those two. Then I’m bumped. I step aside, as a young couple pointed excitedly
at mushrooms at my feet. They exclaimed
in unison, in what may have been German, and focused their cameras within an
inch of the ground. A series of clicks from multiple angles absorbed
their concentration. Then, an
explanation in my direction, “violet cort!” and their plant hunt resumed.
With
that the Ranger invited us all to begin hiking.
He turned to draw back the fir limb curtain. We entered through the opened
curtain onto a wide open floor of pine needles.
The sunlight pierced the pine trees that towered far above us, and brightened
this wide entry. Breathing in the cold,
fresh air I felt excited with the outdoors, and the anticipation of what could
be ahead of us. What furry animal could
be watching from the surrounding thick circle of ferns? I squinted to try to find one. What sweet singing bird could be perched on
the verge of a flight across our path?
There were several trails that started
out in different directions from this entry hub.
The Ranger moved toward one of them, and we
plunged forward into the scenery of green ferns, and rhododendrons, and moss
everywhere.
Moss clung to the ground,
the bushes, the fallen logs, the tree trunks, and it hung freely from the
branches.
I gazed into all that
green.
It’s a revelation how little
green my eyes rest upon in my everyday life.
The Ranger stopped at times to
point out particular plants including fungus.
The Germans would go wild then.
They’d sprint from fungus to fungus, exclaiming and clicking in quick
repetition.
Angel wings fungus cling to
a tree trunk.
Click!
Scarlet Waxy Cap color spot the ground here
and there like bright polka dots.
Click!
Fuzzy Foot (or would they
be Feet?) are scattered on the ground under the lace of the ferns.
Click!
Click!
Click!
Then the Germans seemed to hold their breath when
the Ranger revealed what he called, “the rare yellow stemmed mycena”.
Gasp!
Click!
Our Ranger began to describe the
plants that were not seen at their best in the middle of winter.
He painted a picture in my imagination that
was full of flowers around my feet, and stretching out as far as I could
see:
orange and yellow columbine, white sedum, lavender
flox, electric blue larkspur.
All these bouquets of wild flowers I imagined
complementing the millions of rhododendron bushes, each bush bursting with its
own blooms.
With an effort, I stirred
from my reverie and saw the wintry wonderland appear again.
Wild fungus was seen.
Wild flowers were imagined.
Could wild life be next?
The
trail weaved a little before we entered a small clearing. Here the sun rays were very filtered and just
above the ground there was a barely visible, low hanging mist. Our Ranger lowered his voice and told us
about this sacred ground, the historic Fort Townsend Cemetery for those in
service at the fort for the state. Fort Townsend was
established in 1856 by the US Army for the protection and sanctuary of settlers
in case of Indian attack or other necessity. This small area was the cemetery
for those who died in service. The
bodies were exhumed in 1898 and taken to the San Francisco National
Cemetery. There still remains a heavy
and peaceful air within this sacred space.
I felt a spiritual vibration between us and those we did not know, who
had known this forest so very well, so long ago.
Solemnly,
we hiked along the winding trail, heading slightly uphill and into increasingly
dense woods. Occasionally we could
glimpse through the forest to see bits of the beach and ocean in the distance.
Then there was a resonant and persistent
knocking. We looked
around and then up. There they
were. Woodpeckers. A whole herd of woodpeckers! They were
a chorus high up in a tree that appeared to be good feeding ground for bugs. We watched them, and listened to them, and
then we watched them even closer by taking turns with camera close up view
finders and binoculars. What a treasure we felt we’d
discovered, and shared.
Eventually we continued on our way,
reluctantly, after bidding our feathered wildlife farewell. Now we had a medley of pictures of our
beautiful afternoon in the forest, and the wildlife we’d stumbled on. The forest was forgiving of amateurs, and
generously shared its sights and sounds.
I left Fort Townsend State Park inspired and excited about my pledge to
fully celebrate the State Park Centennial. I couldn’t
wait to discover my February State Park.
