Naturescapes

Gateway to Nature

My trip to Japan was a juxtaposition of contrasts: of the modern bullet trains and ancient rituals, of concrete jungles and serene nature, of crowded onsens and peaceful villages. And yet, everyone of them was connected by an underlying thread of humanity in a cramped country, that, at times, didn't feel as cramped.

I experienced a part of this while hiking the sacred Kumano Kodo, an ancient pilgrimage route winding through the mountains of central Honshu. I passed through ancient Shinto shrines freshly decorated with incense and along forest paths that wound through bucolic villages and dense woods. The study in contrasts was very apparent in those three days that I hope to repeat in my future, if only to revisit those seeming contradictions once again.

Kii Peninsula

Japan

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The Short Summer

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An early summer's hike into the alpine terrain of Mt Rainier revealed a landscape slowly recovering from winter's fingers. Melting slow slowly give way to undulating grassy meadows, drained by tiny creeks harboring the first generations of insects. Down in the meadows, tiny glacier lilies pop up en masse, the first flower to blossom in the short spring. They add a burst of yellow and white to the landscape as the rest of the flowering plants send out tiny shoots skyward.

The pressures of a short summer have led to many interesting adaptations in the fragile alpine ecosystem, and thanks to the well-preserved landscape, the flora and fauna grow and thrive right up to the eaves of winter. There are many such beautiful niches in Rainier, and one just has to walk around to find them.

Mt Rainier National Park

WA USA

Hidden Gems

In my four days of wandering the Appalachian foothills, I found that the real wonder of the region is not in the Smoky Mountains or the famed Blue Ridge Parkway, but in the national forests that surround the east to west spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Peaceful lakes with undisturbed trails and bountiful waterfalls adorn the undulating and lush landscape of the Nantahala and Cherokee National Forests.

I enjoyed the serenity of one such lake in western North Carolina far more than I thought I would, and it was only my first day in this beautiful part of the country.

Nantahala National Forest
NC USA

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Shimmering Cascades of the Smokies

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If you are always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you are in?

It had been a hectic trip until then, driving miles and miles around the Appalachian foothills, and enjoying the vast difference in scenery this place had to offer. It was easy to get the big picture, but it was hard to slow down, stop, and enjoy the little creeks, the tiny cabins, the mellow wildlife, and the gentle colors of the forest.

I did want to slow down, but in the pursuit of "seeing everything" in a limited time, I was on the verge of missing all. And so I did. I found this lovely little creek cascading under the canopy of the golden leaves of fall. And I plonked myself right in the middle, just to enjoy its gentle gurgles.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
NC USA

Hidden in the woods

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.

A tiny cabin is adorned by the colors of autumn in the heart of Nantahala National Forest.

Nantahala National Forest
NC USA

A Walk in the Woods

I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees

- Henry David Thoreau

The earthy trail wound through the tall denizens of the misty woods. It was eerily silent, the only sound being the crunch of every step I took towards my destination. And yet, I never felt alone - I had the forest for company and I had so much to learn during my trek on the Kumano Kodo.

Kumano Kodo
Kii Peninsula, Japan

Early morning mysteries

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises

- Unkown

Nothing refreshes and re-energizes the soul more than smell of a fresh morning in a rain-forest laden with swirls of moist fog gently caressing its lush green slopes. It is not often that one can get out of the tree cover in a forest, but on this one morning in Colombia, I was able to.

Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
Colombia

Underneath the Bonsai

The Autumn equinox heralds the arrival of Fall in the northern hemisphere, a season of crisp weather that transforms foliage from green to a vibrant orange, leading to perhaps one of the most beautiful synchronized show of colors in nature. Where I grew up, seasons like these didn't really exist; it was either hot and humid summers or a mildly warm winter. And hence, when I first encountered these autumnal colors (in the hilly Appalachians), I could not help but stare in wonder at it.

Since then, I look forward to fall every year. Despite the fact that it heralds the upcoming dreary winter (in the Pacific Northwest), I try to make the most of the short time when nature puts out her best colors. One such place where I seek these colors out are the Japanese Gardens in the PNW. The combination of the beautiful aesthetics, along with a microclimate that mirrors Japan, these gardens are a visual spectacle in autumn. This composition reflects the contorted trunk of a dwarf Japanese maple tree that attracts thousands to the Portland Japanese Gardens

Portland
OR USA

Almost Fall

Fall is almost here. I definitely feel blessed to be living in a place where the change of colors heralds the change of seasons

A spur of the moment last-minute trip late in the fall of 2016 led a group of friends and I to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It took us from the concrete jungle in the industrial region of Michigan to a wild landscape turning gold for the winter. We thought we had missed the peak of the colors, but the golden trees told us otherwise.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
MI USA

Gentle Giants

These gentle giants have been growing silently on the rugged slopes of the Sierra Nevadas for thousands of years, and have, in their lifetimes, probably survived hundreds of fires.

And yet, over the last few decades, they have faced far more pressures from the drying climate and human activity. While these giants evolved to survive the smaller fires, they now burn with fiercer intensity, and the lower precipitation reduces their ability to withstand them.

Will these giants survive the next big fire? With Creek fire approaching dangerously close to the Mariposa grove, it is hard to say.

Yosemite National Park
CA USA