Mt Rainer Ntnl Park – Grove of the Patriarchs

Some of the largest and oldest trees in the Washington Cascades stand in the Grove of the Patriarchs. The Grove resides on it’s own island where the Ohanapecosh River separates it from the mainland. These ancient Hemlocks, Cedars, and Douglas firs make the rest of the trees around appear to be just toddlers. Some measure nearly 40 feet in circumference and tower more than 200 feet tall. It is easy to tell these trees are old as each has a full beard of green moss.

Two in particular captured me. Known as the ‘Twin Douglas Firs’ these two monsters are 1000 years old and grew out of the same few feet of soil. So close in fact, that their trucks rest against each other at the bottom. Both are effectively in their final stages of death, taking literally hundreds of years do die, but as I stood there, hand on one of them, an epiphany came over me. The sign that describes these two made them out to be twin brothers growing together in life and dying together after 1000 years. The reality is quite the opposite if you think about it. These two massive trees were warriors through and through. They fought each other for soil, water and sunlight for a millennium. Each wanted to starve the other of the resources for it’s own survival. They could not have been noble brothers growing in peace… they could only have been at battle their entire lives. It was an amazing epiphany, and it all came to me with that single touch.

Sadly, it proved impossible to really capture the essence of these trees with the camera. I simply could not get the trees to constrict themselves to a tiny lens. I could either take a photo of the tops, or the bottoms, but not a whole tree.

This was truly epic an epic hike, even though it was only 1.5 miles, and once again I had the trail all to myself. The untouched old-growth forest is etched into my memory and the twins are part of that memory. I’d be lucky to remember this hike later in life to tell my grandchildren.