Imagine you’re out for a walk. The sun is high in the sky, and the air around you is cool and refreshing. Below you is a trail of soft dirt, mixed with twigs and the occasional pebble. Beside the trail are short patches of grass. Nearby, you hear the occasional chirp of a bird, and the soft whistle of a breeze.
As you continue your walk, the vegetation becomes a bit denser. The occasional shrub decorates the landscape, some even having wild berries. They’re small, round and are blueish black in color — huckleberries. You remember that some nearby towns make delicious pies with these berries. You pluck one and eat it, savoring its sweet flavor.
As you head forward, you look up and observe the towering trees around you. Most of them are evergreens — evident by their spine-like leaves––, and are dozens of feet in height. Their trunks are a foot or two in diameter, and they look rather sturdy.
You hear a few chirps towards your left. You turn your head slightly and spot a pair of small birds. Their upper plumage is a light brown, with black streaks, while their underbellies are white. These are song sparrows. One of them tilts its head, and chirps some more. The other spreads its wings and flies away.
You return to strolling down the trail. It gently twists and turns deeper into the forest. Along the way, you notice that the shapes of the trees differ slightly in shape from each other. Some of them are arrow-shaped, with wide bases narrowing towards the top of the log. Others are tall and thin, each layer of branches spaced out from each other. There are also subtle differences in height and leaf density. You didn’t intend to focus too much on trees during your walk, but their variety piqued your interest.
Up ahead, you spot a slight dip in the ground, leading to a clearing. Curious, you meander towards it. The grass below you transitions to dirt, and then to rocks and pebbles. The rocky area borders a river about 30 feet wide. The waters travel slowly, the flow creating a soothing noise. The surface is clear enough to showcase the rock-filled bottom of the stream. Although you can’t be certain without a ruler, you estimate the depth to be a few inches at its shallowest and about five feet at its deepest. If you had packed a towel and the proper clothes, this river would be a great place for a quick swim.
The river extends northwards for a while longer. You move along its shore, looking back to make sure you don’t lose sight of the trail. As you stroll along the edge of the river, you notice that it seems to get wider and deeper. You soon spot some gray and silver-colored fish of various sizes under the surface. Some of them are about two feet in length, while others are only a few inches. They swim along aimlessly, sticking with other fish of their size.
Suddenly, from the corner of your eye, a river otter snatches up one of the smaller fish and scurries towards the shore. There, it drops the fish from its mouth, crouches down and nibbles on its prey. It squeaks a bit as it effortlessly devours its food. Then, as quickly as it came, it disappears into the water it came from.
Up ahead, the shore’s rounded stones are replaced with jagged rocks. You look back and realize the trail you came from is difficult to spot from here. You decide to turn around and head back, not wanting to get lost in this expansive forest.
Once you’ve returned to the main trail, the rest of the forest matches the sights of before. Plenty of trees and bushes contrast with the tan-colored dirt of the path below. Soon enough, you spot another clearing up ahead. A log-walled lodge resides in the middle. You make your way towards the front and enter, eager to get some snacks and drinks after a long walk.
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