This week was cold and snowy, and it felt like a good day for a longer adventure. I challenged everyone to find the nearest summit on a map. We reviewed contour lines and agreed on the spot.
Then we took a bearing with our compasses.
The summit is well outside the boundary of the Bear Creek Wilderness, which created the opportunity to walk through tree farms in different growth and treatment phases. Just outside our little wilderness, the forest was recently thinned. After years of being nearly impassible, it’s suddenly open and accessible.
Next we entered what was once the old forest, but is now a recent clear-cut. In this area we found the most snow and the best views.
It wasn’t long before we reached the highest point!
It was our lunch spot and naturally, there were some snowball fights.
But I also appreciated that behind us we could experience a dense young forest, before its first thinning. It was dark and ominous, with almost no understory vegetation.
In front of us was the clear-cut, newly planted with Doug-fir seedlings. We were careful not to trample them.
To the other side was a giant old tree, left standing. The kids measured it using the unit of human bodies at breast height.
And this old tree called out to be climbed! The branches were large, close, covered in soft moss, and low to the ground.
Even I climbed up to enjoy the view.
We continued on, through more thinned forests, until at last it was time to turn around and head back.
On the way back, we stopped to harvest some hazel suckers, growing back straight and long in the open areas.
The burn scars from the slash piles were striking, and it will be fun to return and see what grows in them this spring.
We got back with enough time to start baskets with our fresh harvest.
The hike was just short of 4 miles, and there were calls for an 8-mile hike next time!