The beauty of a frosty glade, cold and fresh...

A photo blog by Robyn of Eggs

Made in Oregon

1
The glade in the afternoon, around 1:30 PM

Full of oxygen, silent and still, we found this winter glade off the city park trail. Still under-developed and new, the trail we found led into the tracks of a logging road. Not really a road, the tracks from the trucks looked to be pretty recent, probably from last Summer. The trees were marked with numbers, but soon I realized they weren't marked for removal, they were marked to be saved.

2
Footprints (most likely canine) and my shoe

The bright green, spray-painted numbers went up into the 40's and signified healthy, established trees. I am used to the other way around, but I suppose the bad trees had already been logged. Most of the trees must have been removed, but there were remnants of stumps everywhere and a pile of rounds left. Certainly there was plenty more to remove, awaiting the summer. It was 27 degrees Fahrenheit outside that Winter's day.

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[Outtakes for Steemit Only]

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3
A short yet sturdy bridge

The air was so cool and crisp it was filling me up, making me feel exuberant. I think we hiked a good mile and a half all together. The trail ended at the bottom of the hill in a swamp-like stream that cut us off from the houses on the hilltop. Once we saw the houses we turned around and went back, disappointed. It was good while it lasted though, and the sunny hilltop was quite the spot to sit and smoke a bit.

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4
Climbing up the grade and looking back at this wonderful tree - so full of character

The way the sunlight shown down through the pine trees was amazing. So many photo opportunities. We also took time to stop along the way and enjoy each piece of nature. Mushrooms were still abundant, even in the frost. Little button browns and some frost-bitten orange ones (as seen on my Flickr) stayed hardy and open to the beams of light splashing through.

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5
The trail we climbed up to connect to

Climbing got hard and difficult in the spots where the sun had melted off layers of frost. Otherwise our boots crunched on the hard ground.

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6
Log covered in moss

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7
A logger's smiley face, with side mushroom

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8
Tree number 38

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9
The hike up another grade

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10
Tree number 13

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11
A sunny spot to sit and rest a minute

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12
Moss and broken limbs

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13
Shelf mushroom on upturned tree

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14
Light peaking through at the top of the hill

This was one of my favorite spots, towards the end. I couldn't help but just soak in all the beauty and greenery of this place, even in the Winter conditions. It is only about 200' elevation here, and only an hour away from the coast. The air is humid and cool. It feels heavy in my lungs, but filling. We had got only a few inches of snow, and so you can see where the shade had preserved little chunks here and there. Still, it is nothing compared to what's higher up the mountains. This low-level, forested park was just perfect for a day hike out, after being stuck inside for days. Very wonderful indeed. :-)

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15
The way back out to the trail

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I hope you enjoyed my little tour!

[Photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy SIII]

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