This was my birthday adventure... An ancient forest in the heart of Vancouver Island, inhabited by giant sleepers covered in green moss: some fallen, some still standing, some blackened and hollowed by centuries-old fires, some indented by loggers, some carved by Canada's First Nations, and all admired by the dwarf tourists.
Welcome to Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. It may be a cliche to say that I felt like I was in a scene of Lord of the Rings, but that was my first thought. And, of course, my son is as tall as a hobbit, so there you go...
Douglas-fir trees, red cedars and some other trees whose names I can't recall, but that are as wide as a car. They say the largest tree in the park is about 800 years-old. One can tell the age of a tree by counting the rings (you see, Lord of the Rings!) from the center of the tree and out. For example, this fallen tree was 433 years-old when it died:
From left to right: Tree, 433; Diego 31.
We spent about an hour hiking around the forest, taking pictures inside hollow cedars and learning a lot about these gorgeous trees. You'll see that I finally bought the weatherproof hiking boots that I didn't have on my trips to Mount Washington...
Inside the hollow tree.
Of course, I had to work out a little bit...
After walking around the park and getting to know the forest, you just got to love those trees:
Tree hugger!
Love your blog!
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