Last Saturday, Chandra and I, along with an 11 person contingent of Eugeneians, enjoyed a marvelous hike along Lookout Creek in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest. No one could have guessed that just a few miles from the motorboats and RVs at Blue River Reservoir, what a spectacular old growth forest we'd find.  Right off the road, we started noticing lots of old growth red cedar.  For 3.5 miles, we took a meandering trail over Lookout Creek, crossing many small tributaries where Chandra pointed out the change in vegetation.  At one crossing, we found delicious salmonberries; near others: red huckleberry and wild blueberries.  To eager questions of "what is that?" Chandra explained about the curious saprophytes we encountered: the largest Pine Drops she'd seen and Coral Root Orchids. 

Once we left the woods, thinking back on all the ups and downs of the day, we decided that walking back down the road would be best.  We were rewarded by a steady decline and a tremendous view of Lookout Mountain, which had remained veiled to us by the lofty canopy all day.  We left the woods with a feeling of "just right," and returned to Eugene thinking back to the old growth which is a reason why many of us, old or new, are here in the Willamette Valley.

Link to photos