Seeing the people for the trees

Kim and I hiked in the nearby foothills again on Friday. September is a golden month for day hikes with little rain and mild temps. Friday’s skies were thick with forest fire haze causing the summit to loom like a phantom over the lower hills. We hiked a short stretch between Flag Point and Lookout Mountain on the east side of Mount Hood at around 5,500 feet altitude, then scavenged for firewood in the national forest and stopped for fresh produce at a farmer’s stand.

A day like that does much to clear the head – nothing like those mountain trails and tall trees. Hiking in the Badger Creek Wilderness, we felt far from civilization. Our ears reveled in the awesome quiet. Just the two of us and our Maker.

On the way home, we saw a sign for firewood for sale and pulled into the farmhouse yard. The guy was vintage Westerner – libertarian to the core. He generally sells small bundles of campfire wood, but promised to call us when he had whole cords cut up. At least he has a phone.

The financial world was reeling from the Wall Street meltdown, but this man might as well have been on Mars. His main concern was the nearby forest fires. “They ought to stop preserving the forests, just sell off the deadwood at 25 a cord. When the deadwood builds up, then these fires get out of control.” Far from being a tree hugger, this man disliked trees. “I’d rather live in a desert.” And the expanding human population. “Just pay the people and let their houses burn down.”

At a farmer’s stand on down the road, we picked up corn, blueberries, raspberries, and peppers (at 2 for a dollar). This farmer was also concerned about the fire – he’d been out fighting it the day before in his other role as fireman. To him the trees are valuable for what they do for his environment. He loves living in close proximity to the mountains and forests.

Such a variety of trees and people in this world. I’ll take them all. Just hope they can take me!