Hanging out on the ridge top with the ancients, drenched in solitude and the most unfathomable quiet, truly delivered space for calm and introspection. Tomhead Saddle – wow!Into that space rushed so much sadness. A sore heart and a little throat lump for people, and the planet. The wild is where I usually find solace, so much perseverance, patience, resilience…but these times…and this place…The forest here, although spectacularly beautiful, feels gnarled and dying, as if from a time gone by to never return. Tomhead is on the eastern edge of the coast range, from the saddle you look straight down to the valley (truly epic view!). The average annual rainfall is maybe 30 inches, maybe more I’d love to know the secret, because we found trees nearly 7 feet in diameter! The forest felt hot and extremely dry, the trees in their twilight years with only a few middle-aged and seniors ones by their sides. Is this a visual example of the changing climate? Is this a visual example of decades of fire suppression? Whatever the answer it is an example of ecological change in real-time. Change is real. Life goes on, although sometimes in unexpected ways.
Wild Escape Guides 