Forest by Matt Collins

Forest by Matt Collins

Author:Matt Collins [Collins, Matt and Lewis, Roo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Published: 2019-06-14T16:00:00+00:00


Smith Rock is a peaceful place—time slips by quickly and before I know it sunset has begun to darken the rock faces into enormous silhouettes, and the air has steadily cooled into the direction of the night. It’s quite a way back to the car so I circle back and pick up the pace. I was forewarned that rattlesnakes live among the rocks in the valley, and that dusk is when they tend to be most active. Alarmingly, snakes do begin to appear on the path in the diminishing light, and I’m embarrassed to say that on more than one occasion—when an outline suddenly materializes in front of me in the dark—I find myself jumping to one side or skipping over them in abrupt, awkward leaps.

The next morning I’m up before the heat. I’ve arranged to meet Gena Goodman–Campbell from the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) for a morning’s hike into the high desert. She plans to introduce me to some of the region’s old–growth juniper in the nearby ecological research area of Horse Ridge, and has suggested we make an early start before the sun gets too high. As Public Lands Coordinator for the ONDA, Gena spends much of her time in the wild terrain outside Bend, campaigning to preserve its unique and vulnerable ecology. In the late 1980s, fears over the growing impact of cattle grazing and general human disturbance in these areas spearheaded the ONDA’s inception, a non–profit organization bolstered by volunteer action, dedicated to protecting Central Oregon’s high desert. Gena advised bringing plenty of water for the walk, irrespective of the early start, as we would aim to locate a particular western juniper thought to be 1,600 years old, growing in a spot fairly high up on the ridge. Her dog Penny joins us for the morning, a black and white mongrel full of energy who came to Gena as a rescue, found wandering alone and collarless in the nearby prairie. As we begin our hike into the sagebrush Penny tramps up in front, lifting little clouds of light dust underfoot.



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