Rainforest Secrets

The rainforest is such a beautiful place. The more often I walk through it, the more I start to wonder why anyone would ever want to live anywhere else but here.

Yesterday Jonny and I did a Guide's Choice Hike together on the West Glacier Trail. We had a really good time with our hikers, but BOY did it RAIN! If you'd like to see how rainy it was, just click HERE! As you can see, a rainforest can be just as amazing in the rain as it is in the sun.

Today we decided to walk along the Outer Point Trail. This is my absolute favorite trail to walk along. It's on North Douglas, so we had to drive across the Gastineau Channel and down the Douglas Highway to get there.

At the trail head!

Here's a map of the trail. It opens up to the beach through the forest, goes through a bog, and then back to the road. 

 This trail is so beautiful. All you have to do is follow the wooden path.

This is where I stopped for lunch!

Jonny walks across one of the many bridges.

The stairway to the beach.

When I go walking through nature, I like to search for the hidden things. Sometimes you have to move a few leaves aside and get a little closer. Here, you can see my hand silhouetted behind a huge skunk cabbage leaf.

There is a lot of skunk cabbage on this trail, and it's all gigantic!

Skunk cabbage grows in really marshy areas. There are many creeks and streams flowing through this area, and all long them is plenty of skunk cabbage!

Here I am straddling a fallen log! It sure was slippery!

The spiny Devil's Club along the trail also has gigantic leaves.

I love watching the sunlight shine down through them.

Just look at the size of these leaves!

A little closer to the forest floor, there is an array of beautiful flowers blooming. These are bright yellow buttercups!

And here we have Dwarf Dogwood, or Bunch Berry. Aren't they pretty?

These tiny little star-shaped flowers are called Shy Maidens. They face the ground as if they're shy. Once pollinated, however, they face straight up! 

I believe that these are Forget Me Nots, Alaska's state flower.

All along the trail, blueberries dot the shrubs.

This yellowish string is called Old Man's Beard. It's lichen- a symbiotic relationship between fungus and algae that is non-parasitic and doesn't harm the trees.

 Some trees are completely covered by it!

There's nothing better than kicking back in the rainforest!

And here are some mossy logs! These large trees lack deep taproots, so when the winds blow in the wintertime, they blow right over. Some of them are incredibly twisted and sticking up straight in the air!

This tree snapped in half!

 Most of these trees are hemlocks and spruces. Take a look at how beautiful they are!

Looking around between the trees, you can find tiny hidden treasures. Here, a small spider hides on the underside of a leaf.

 This Twisted Stalk has small berries developing on the undersides of its leaves.

These little ferns make up a large portion of the forest floor.

Also comprising most of the floor cover is moss! There are over 700 different species here, and anywhere you stop you can see a different type. The ground is a patchwork quilt of different colors and textures.

And let's not forget about all of the little mushrooms sticking up out of the moss!

I've never seen this fungus before. I think it looks like large gobs of gooey toasted marshmallows!

Next, we happened through a bog! All of this tall grass is actually growing in very deep mud!

My boots sink deep into the mud.

...a little TOO deep actually. See how my left leg is wet up to my knee? I sank into the mud and got stuck! Jonny had to pull me out. It's a good thing he came with me or I might still be there!

The trees in this area were strange and twisted.

The trail opens up to a beautiful black sand beach.

This is Outer Point on the horizon.

If you'd like to see a little peek of what this trail looks like, just click HERE! See how peaceful it is in the forest?

I spent hours out in the woods today. Even though this trail is short, you can spend all day looking around at all the forest has to offer. I hope you all enjoyed the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them! See you next time!