Each trip down the trail is different. Perhaps the bloom of the speckled wood lily in May or the climbing buckwheat vine with its arrowhead-shaped leaves on lush red stems in July will catch your eye. You may hear a raven's throaty call or catch a glimpse of a deer in late afternoon. Regardless of season, nature has an unlimited number of pleasures to share if you look closely. These fallen trees once grew atop this boulder, snaking their roots over it and into the shallow soil.
Life is short here for trees lacking a firm attachment.
The roots straddle the log. Easily identified by its shiny bark, yellow birch requires 35-40 years to reach maturity and can live as long as 200 years. Decaying, it provides food and a suitable habitat for mosses, lichens, and even a few young Fraser Firs. As adjacent mature firs succumb to adelgids, these tiny survivors begin the cycle again. Once adelgids are visible at eye level, the tree will die in 1-2 years.