The Corridor

The tracks I followed were zigzagging through the underbrush of some fairly steep terrain, going down into a drainage that eventually emptied into a fork of a major river. They were fresh, as snow had only started falling a couple hours before, and appeared to be heading towards a flat-ish area at the bottom of the bowl. My own movement was slow, but I was trying to keep myself from overheating under the weight of my pack and rifle as I crawled over downed trees and rocks.

This is terrain I am intimately familiar with.

I’ve spent years exploring the series of ridgelines that I most often hunt, getting to the point I now do not often require a map to identify where I am or where I am going. This has led to an arrogance that makes me overconfident sometimes that I know where I am, or that I cannot be surprised by anything I find in the woods.

This time was different.

As I reached the bottom of the bowl, second growth trees gave way to first growth behemoths and longer lines of sight. The tracks became harder to follow as snow disappeared, but the whole vibe of the forest was fast changing and the fact that I was pursuing a deer slipped from my mind.

I felt like I was entering a whole new world, or the old one.

Hundreds of trees in the area were obviously old growth, and the sound of running water gave the area a resonance that caught me off guard. This area felt so old, like the sort of old that you just don’t often find in this part of the Cascades. Normally scarred by wildfire, this area was oddly untouched, the only evidence of human beings is a lone fire pit and a few old cans of Bush Lite that someone threw in the pit as if it is some sort of trashcan. Tracks became obvious again, but instead of one set there were many, and obvious signs of animals drinking from the nearby creek and feasting on the lichen that grows on the bark of these old giants. It seemed to me like animals felt safe in this area, maybe the same way I felt still, and at peace.

There is something spiritual about this neck of the woods, entering it feels like you’re stepping into a bubble that is frozen in time. I was a little confused at first, shocked that I found a place I had never seen before but also confused how a place like this could be so…untouched.