We took advantage, finally, of having a car for the weekend and drove, after the wolf rally, to the Rain Forest trail on Douglas Island. I have to say I was a little let down. The well groomed trail made it feel way too civilized. I understand how nice this is compared to walking on mud - especially after I slipped on the slimy beach rocks. I could feel all the plants pushing up against the soil, but for now, only a few green tips had begun to emerge. When all that lush green fills in, I'm sure it won't feel so empty. I'm not sure why I haven't felt that way on the Perseverance Trail.
The trees are incredibly straight. I can imagine sailors coveting these trees for masts.
But things do happen.
Then we got down to the beach. Rocky, but much smaller rocks than last Sunday. But very slippery. There was a large flock of surf scoters busily eating. Through the binoculars we watched them dive and then gulp down the little fish they'd gotten into to their big yellow beaks.
We also saw some harlequin ducks (one of my favorites) swimming nearby the scoters, and I think both some common and red breasted mergansers.
The Rain Forest Trail has been sanitized for tourists. It was built with cruise ship head tax money to provide a rain forest "experience" for folks who would never put on XtraTufs and set forth into the woods without a paid guide. During the cruise ship season, it is the most used trail for tours, and you won't find many local folks anywhere near it.
ReplyDeleteDid the tree fall due to a storm?
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