I should have known when I saw the two shamans in full ceremonial garb, who turned away from me as I passed, that something special was going to happen soon. But nothing could have prepared me for the enchanted bouldering forest.
It was the second day of my visit with my daughter Josie, who is due to have her baby at the beginning of March. We had been for a short hour-long hike the day before. This was after we went to her ultrasound appointment and I got to see baby O through the wonders of technology. We didn’t have anything planned for this second day. It was like drawing a free card. We could choose anything we wanted.
After a bit of thought Josie ventured “well, we could go to an enchanted forest where there is a tunnel, and large boulders? I found them once and have been wanting to go back when I had more time.”
How could I resist? She packed up some snacks, grabbed the full first aid kit and water bottles. I stuffed my pockets with some tissues, tied up my hiking boots and picked up my camera. We were off.
Finding the trail head was easy enough and the trail looked well used near the beginning.
Josie tells me that it took her a year-and-a-half and more than three trips using hand-drawn maps acquired from word of mouth to find this bouldering spot. So the specific location of our adventure shall remain classified for the protection of mystery and wonder.
It is not long before we come to what looks suspiciously like a mountain bike jump.
Then the first moss-covered boulders seem to rise up as if they fell from the sky. Which they probably did.
The rains have been heavy over the winter. Water runs down through the moss and off the bottom of the rocks.
I look back after we have passed. In awe, I pause.
Josie smiles and says “what is next gives me shivers even though it is amazing.”
This is when the strangest thing happened. I took a few photographs and could see orbs in my photographs. The tunnel walls were dripping on the outside. So I thought it might be that. I took a couple more photographs. Still there were these strange glowing blurs in my photographs. Then I looked at my feet. There were clamshells layered in the dirt. I looked in the tunnel. There were old clamshells washed clean by rain dripping through the cracks between the large stones onto the floor of the tunnel. I thought for a moment. We were a good 30 minute hike into the woods from the ocean. Then I said “no wonder you get the shivers, there are spirits here. See these shells. This is an old midden.”
If you look over to the bottom right you will see a faded area. I am pretty certain that a spirit being was sitting there watching our passage as we went further into the forest.
I look back again. It is a habit from years of walking in the woods. If you look back you know what the return trail looks like. It gives a person a chance to create mental markers so you can find your way.
Steps away from the tunnel and it is hidden from view and the curious eye. We walk along for awhile through the trees. Coming to a power line we start to climb in altitude. There are trails leading off in all directions. Josie recounts her directions. The second outcrop or rock bluff we must turn off. Going deep into the woods we climb in and out of a creek bed. The ground is saturated and we must be careful to find firm footing. We keep walking through small openings of gary oaks and back into the big firs and cedars. We are still climbing and going deeper into the forest. We muse about whether the bears are out of their dens yet and could there be a cougar in the area. Coming onto a ridge there is a recent deer carcass almost picked clean. But no sign of anything else.
Finally, we find the first pink ribbons. It is the beginning of the loop trail to the boulders. We keep left. We keep climbing. Slowly. We are both getting tired but we know we are almost there. Then through the trees we spot something. Could it be?
Our first bouldering boulders are in view.
There are more.
And more.
I am not going to show you them all because some of the mystery must be left for each person who comes into an enchanted forest.
We take a break and have a snack while we look around.
I see Josie thinking “I could climb that one.”
I am thinking “Yes, but maybe not today.”
Bouldering is done without ropes and these sandstone rocks must be swept free of moss before climbing.
Safety mats are stuffed away in the rocks along with cleaning brooms.
We do not linger long. It has been two hours and we still need to hike out. We estimate it should take us about an hour.
The trail has had little traffic at this end. At first we can’t find the next pink ribbon to give us direction. We wander back and forth having lost the trail. Neither of us want to back track so we keep looking. Ah, there it is. Though the trail is well ribboned, the deer trails are more prominent. We pay close attention. Finding one ribbon after another we complete the loop. From there the way back is familiar and easier going.
Three hours later in total we are back at the car, a little tired but invigorated by our enchanted bouldering forest adventure.
For a week of doing nothing, I must say, I really did find more time to do what counts.
Sprout question: What did you do that mattered the most this week?
© 2011 Terrill Welch, All rights reserved.
Liberal usage granted with written permission. See “About” for details.
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From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada
Creative Potager 
What an extraordinary place! Your photos are wonderful.
Thanks Maureen. It was difficult photographing because of being in the deep woods. But they came out alright in the end.
Terrill,
What wonderful enchanted forest you have encountered! Wow! Great boulders, beautiful moss filled spaces… I didn’t see orbs in any of these photos, but I am sure the spirits sing and dance in such a place… I am not keen on climbing yet being in the energy of those stones has to be special.
I love the photograph of the water running off the moss covered rock, how cool!
What did I do that matter the most this week? I got out of my own way, moved beyond what was affecting me emotionally and spiritually in a negative way…
Jeff I didn’t post the orb ones. I could I guess but to me they look like bad photography – which they are. I was just notice that it only happened in the one stop. Strange. I am not a climber either but as you say being in the energy of those stones is special. Have an amazing weekend Jeff with yourself safely out of the way:)
There is nothing I love more than an enchanted forest! Great story and photos…
Well Michelle this is the perfect post for you then. I got to relive the experience writing and editing these photographs after getting home last night… into the wee hours this morning. I will need a nap this afternoon I think.
Terrill –
Ohhhhhhhhh, I had the opportunity to read this before I went into a Reiki session. Oh me, oh my…I guess you can well imagine that your words and the images stayed well and truly with me.
You can count on the fact that I’ll be drinking this in — again and again — between each client today. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the gift of this post.
Sprout question: What did you do that mattered the most this week?
Went off my myself and played my bodhrán.
Laurie I think playing your bodhrán at the tunnel cave would have been amazing. Stop by anytime. This is the beauty of having a blog. I love that people can visit whenever they want and as many times as they want. And I am real glad to see that you took some extra special “Laurie time” this week.
Great story mom! The photos are AWESOME! The one you got of my favorite boulder is so good.
The enchanted bouldering forest is a precious place, indeed. Thank you for sharing it with us. You can feel the spirits accompanying us as we walk through the forest with you. The green moss makes this look like I typically imagine the Pacific Northwest. Good luck to your daughter as Baby O transcends from spirit into this enchanted world…
Kathy I was just thinking this morning that i hadn’t been over to your blog for a visit lately and here you are visiting me. Shall make a point of dropping in later today. Thank you for best wishes for Baby O. All is good so far. It is “the waiting time” now.
Wow your pictures bring back a childhood memory of hiking with my Uncle a United Church of Canada Minister ( most of my life in West Vancouver or Chilliwack) I am now wondering if we ventured to this location. It makes me want to go there, maybe again. Thank you for your marvelous pictures and descriptions.
My neighbor died on Monday and I have spent the week listening to others come to terms, and assisting in the sorting process. A rather interesting post wrote itself from the nothingness…
I also had the opportunity to sit back and listen to a fascinating designer and that brought me an amazing amount of energy which I wrote about on the bikingarchitect.com
Your community is blessed to have you Patricia and I look forward to getting a chance to drop by your blog for a read. Please feel free to leave links when you have interesting bits for Creative Potager readers. It is one of the nice things about having a supported community blog space. We can share! And I encourage you to do so.
http://patriciaswisdom.com/2011/02/the-work-of-everyday/
Thanks for the link Patricia. I will drop by in the next little while.
Um, your question can be answered in a number of ways. Thanks to Laurie I found an enchanting blog. I made enjoyable progress on my work in progress. And, thanks to a sandwiching of appointments on Monday, I had time to explore a Mayne Island nature hike. These week held many more surprises, delights and challenges–and at this vantage point it’s hard to see clearly which was most important. That’s why it’s important to embrace each moment. Thank you, Terrill–it was a magical hike.
Excellent, delightful, inspiring and truly enchanting – what planet was this again!!
What did I do that mattered the most this week? After standing at the head of two paths for an obscene amount of time, I finally took my first step on the decided course of action. Buyers remorse, along with terror times infinity, is what I am now experiencing )(*^$@#*&(^%?!
“So the specific location of our adventure shall remain classified for the protection of mystery and wonder.”
I believe that’s best Terrill, as the undefined wonderment is really part and parcel to this experience. Again you’ve graced these halls with some beguiling photos which are further proof of the limiless boundaries of your magical habitat. There was a time in my life when I engaged in these activities, and your gloriously extravagent presentation has brought those memories into focus. I was a member of the “Boys Scouts of America” for five years, and hiking, camping outdoors and physical activities of all sorts were negotiated with abandon and enthusiasm. The funniest thing I remember happening to me in this regard was when I was rejected by a councellor for my cooking “merit badge” for having the temerity to off up a few cans of “Dinty Moore” beef stew as my version of a cooked meal. The councellor laughed at the absurdity of me thinking that I could earn a merit badge by heating up the contents of a can! Ha! The whole idea of being out in the woods is not having access to supermarket cans. I was supposed to make the stew from scratch! I am laughing my ass off as I write this. Years later, when I was 18, I spent four days camping with friends in the Appalachians in West Virginia, and for two of those days we had to fend off ferocious wind and rain, with basic tents as our threadbare refuge. Your photos have brought back these escapades vividly.
This week’s most important endeavor was school-related: a vital meeting with teachers on upcoming test preparation in a district where some vast improvement is needed.
And Josie is just about ready! Eeek.
She was too Sam. As you know it was only three days later that baby O was born.
What a magnificent post Terri! The photos are gorgeous and what a special place for you and your daughter to visit just before baby O’s birth! Congratulations on the new little bundle, absolutely perfect! Thanks for sharing this living, breathing piece of the planet!
You are welcome Holly and I am so glad you dropped in and are part of the Creative Potager community. It is always a pleasure to share this pace with you.