The Journey
Friday was a red tail hawk day of cool air and sunny skies. Good for soaring high above the earth. Shards of sunlight electrified the autumn yellow of big leaf maples. The varying shades of red of vine maple leaves punctuated the yellows along the highway. Large puffy white and gray clouds play hide and seek with the afternoon sun as I drive the hour to my destination- Deception Falls trail.

The Destination
Once I arrive I find the parking lot closed. Not to be defeated, I find a wide spot along the highway and pull off.

The trail is damp- fading greens and deep browns dominate the dark and cool forest. Why did I come here? I came deliberately. Thoreau's quote comes to mind- I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

I have come to find the part of my spirit that dwells in the wild and to leave behind the distress I have become.

This remnant ancient forest is quiet save for the water falls. Thundering through the granite troughs of rocks, the Tye River rushes on its never-ending journey to blend with the Skykomish River. Eons of rushing has carved its path. The water is wild, clear, and cold.

I have found a giant elder western red cedar to sit under. The bark of the cedar is thick with moist green mosses. Tiny droplets hang at the end of the moss threads in anticipation of dropping to the ground and nourishing the forest floor. How long has it stood sentinel in these woods? How did it escape the cut of the saw? Has it heard the call of the wolf or felt the claws of a grizzly? Did a spotted owl hunt from its branches or a fisher climb its trunk.

Calmness comes with every breath. I am close enough to hear the highway however the embrace of the forest takes over. Giant yellowing prickly leaves of devil's club tower over me and the remnant spotty green leaves of red huckleberry camouflage me from the trail. The air is of autumn freshness- cool, damp, and clean. The air is getting cold informing me that it is time to go.

As I reached my truck to leave a raven circled low over my head three times and landed in a tree across the highway. A couple of gronks and a soft call (that I answered) and it was on its way up the highway. Goodbye maybe?