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A real temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest.
Riffing off of enhydra lutris' OP yesterday.
I grew up in So Cal, a desert plied with water piped in from far away places. At one time I lived in Angeles National Forest above Saugus, now known as $anta Clarita. A forest largely no taller than 10'. Lots of scrub brush, creosote bushes, and rattlesnakes.
I hiked many trails down there, including the Pacific Crest Trail in many places, and loved being outdoors among the trees and wildlife.
But I yearned for bigger trees, and canopies, and more primordial foliage.
I was looking for a rainforest.
When I moved to the PNW, I was amazed at the prevalence of trails through Wilderness areas, many if not most cut through temperate rainforests.
Exotic names such as Opal Creek, Trapper Creek, Indian Heaven, Three Sisters, and the Wild Sky Wilderness areas are but a few of the 78 wilderness areas in Washington and Oregon states alone that I have explored.
These areas are federally protected, prohibiting all roads and/or commercial uses. Only hiking trails and primitive campsites are allowed. Backpackers only!
It was the PNW forests that sparked my bucket list of hiking through a Tropical Rainforest, which took me to Costa Rica and one of the deepest, darkest rainforests on the planet, the Corcovado National Park. Ultimately, I got to the Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia, which was tropical, and a Tasmanian temperate rainforest.
Very different extremes.
Daintree at 11 degrees south and Tasmanian forests at 44 degrees south.
While age (77)makes my deep hikes a thing of the past, I can and still do smaller, shorter excursions into areas I haven't yet visited.
As long as I can stand on my two legs, I will continue walking through the woods.
Thanks for the prompt, EL.
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