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Walkway Into The Woods
There is something enchanting about a rainforest! This inland temperate rainforest in the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Park in Canada’s British Columbia is home to old-growth western red cedars – many over a thousand years of age. I can just imagine Oberon, Titania, and Puck frolicking nearby – hidden by the dense pockets of undergrowth.
Sometimes, individuals make a big difference.
In Canada’s British Columbia, the most-recently established Provincial Park helps protect trees that are among the province’s oldest.
About 114 km (71 mi) east of the small industrial city of Prince George, there remains a section of North American inland temperate rainforest. Pockets of humid forest patches survive in what is called the interior wet-belt, sheltered by two mountain ranges: the Columbia Range to the west and the Rockies to the east. This section, now called the Ancient Forest/Chun T’oh Whudujut Park, is believed to be the furthest temperate rainforest from an ocean (800 km / 497 mi) anywhere in the world. It houses old-growth trees, many thought to be well over 1000 years of age.
But, not so long ago, it was under threat from logging.
The Ancient Forest is within the traditional territory of the Lheidli T’enneh Nation who have inhabited the region since time immemorial. Lheidli people would visit the stands from summer fishing camps along the upper Fraser River as well as gather medicinal plants, some of which were thought to be extinct. The impact of residential schooling disrupted the strength of traditional practices, and many of the giants standing here were quietly earmarked for felling.
While conducting research on lichen biodiversity in 2005, Dave Radies – a University of Northern British Columbia graduate student – came across these impressive western red cedar trees, and alerted the relevant communities to the threat that they were under. With a lot of work, money, and collaboration between local hiking groups, the university, the First Nation people, and the Provincial Government, trails were developed to bring visitors to the site in an environmentally friendly manner – so that they might see the majestic cedars for themselves without causing undue further harm. The logging rights were finally cancelled in 2008, and in 2016 the the Provincial Park was established to protect this unique ecosystem.
One of the mighty cedars is called “The Radies Tree” in Dave Radies’ honour.
Earlier the same day, I had taken a short walk to a magnificent waterfall (see: Rearguard Falls), and I couldn’t help but marvel at how different these two neighbouring environments were!
Come for a short walk through some ancient giants:
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Into the Ancient Forest
The main walkway into the rainforest is wonderfully accessible. In spite of that, I had the area to myself, and didn’t see another soul.
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Greenery in a Tree Stump
Everything is damp, and dark, and magical. New growth takes hold in old decay.
Small Waterfall
Water trickles down through the fallen logs, tangled roots, and mossy, ferny undergrowth.
“The Last Frontier – Life in the Canopy”
There are numerous signs along the walkway with useful and interesting information about the unique ecosystem we are walking through.
Look Up!
The canopy is high above us. Western red cedars (Thuja plicata) typically grow to 60 metres (about 200 feet) tall.
Moss Bubbles
Far below the canopy, the light is shady and filtered – making it the ideal home for all types of mosses.
Ferns at Ground Level
Several types of ferns also thrive in the damp and shady understory: these are long beech ferns (Phegopteris connectilis), which grow in wet boreal and montane forests across Canada.
“Guardians of the Rainforest”
These mighty cedars are surrounded by devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus), a plant that bushwalkers do well to avoid: they are covered in wicked spines coated in irritating oils that can penetrate all but the thickest clothing.
Natures Artworks : Colours and Patterns in the Bark
Nature’s Artworks : Mossy Textures
Boardwalk
The elevated boardwalk might have been built for practical accessibility, with its stable and slip resistant surface, and its protected sides – but it still feels enchanted, with the tall, moss-covered trees pressing in close on all sides.
Tiered Waters
Rivulets of water work their way down hill.
Light in the Leaves
It’s a good thing I didn’t touch these leaves. I thought it was a young maple, but it is more devil’s club!
Buttress Root System
Like many rainforest tree species, western red cedars can develop buttress roots. While it was thought that these help protect the massive trees against falling over, is is now believed that they help deliver oxygen to the roots in very wet soils.
Fallen
Not all trees survive!
Canopy
Those still standing stretch so far into the sky …
Tall Trees
… that it is hard to appreciate – or photograph! (iPhone12Pro)
Skunk Cabbage – Lysichiton Americanus
In the very wet ground around the waterways, skunk cabbage is growing. Used as a medicinal and an emergency food source, it doesn’t smell as badly when it’s not in bloom.
Green and Gold
Gold dust lichens (Chrysothrix) decorate the textured bark of the cedars. These lichens are considered an indicator of good air quality.
Bunchberry Dogwood – Cornus Canadensis
I always smile when I come across these pretty little shade-loving ground covers.
Bracken Ferns – Pteridium
False Solomon’s Seal – Maianthemum Racemosum
The Radies Tree: Almost Loved to Death!
This is the base of Radies Tree, thought to be around 1000 years old. As I said earlier, the exposed buttress roots of western red cedars help them with oxygenation. When Radies first saw this tree in 2005, the exposed roots were protected by lichen and moss. By 2015, the feet of the many later visitors had worn the protective covering away, causing potential long-term damage. There is now a makeshift fence around the base, and signs request that people stay on the boardwalk.
Natures Artworks – Patterns in Gold
It is truly a magical place!
How lucky we are that it has been protected.
Tread Softly!
Photos: 31May2023
