"The forester who guided my eyes to places I could not see on my own."

While visiting my mother, Arta, in Victoria during the last month of her life, she spoke to me about her trip to Avatar Grove. She called it "one of the holiest moments of (her) life". You can read more about it on her 80 Memories for 80 Years Blog - post #24  Avatar Grove 

Glen Pilling in Avatar Grove

Multiple time, Arta encouraged me to "try a trip to Avatar Grove", the ancient growth forest, otherwise known as T'l'oqwxwat. 

Our family vacation this summer was to visit my mother in Victoria.  After her death, we decided to honour her by keeping our tickets to Victoria so we could take that trip to Avatar Grove. Now the funny thing about my life is that things often go sideway or don't go as planned.  Our trip to Victoria got us close to Avatar Grove, but the night before our trip we learned that the logging company that maintains the dirt road to Avatar Grove had decided to gate and lock access.  Avatar Grove is close to Fairy Creek where there are protests happening to save another ancient growth forest. If you want to learn more about what is happening to ancient growth forests in Canada, check out this website.  Ancient Forest Alliance

To say that I was disappointed wouldn't do justice to my emotions.  

Now things sometimes have a way of working themselves out.  Our family left Victoria after a brief stay and we made our way to Annis Bay on the Shuswap Lake.  There I got a chance to meet up with the forester, my Uncle Glen Pilling, who had taken my mother on her trip to Avatar Grove.  

Glen Pilling, giving us a guided tour of the forest

When I told him I had never hiked the path toward the Old Sicamous Road, he told me to be at his house early the next morning and he would give me a guided tour.  He signed up my Uncle Greg, one of the trail keepers, to walk along with us.  Only those wanting an early morning hike were invited, so eventually our group consisted of Catie, Eric, Glen, Greg and myself.  

Greg Bates and Eric Jarvis on the trail

Here are a few of the photos from our hike.

The climb begins

The guide and the young (Catherine Rayanna) waiting along the trail
for the rest of us to catch up.

The sun peeking through the trees.

The forester gave us a lesson, then a quiz about the various trees that make up this forest.
What kind of tree is this?  Answer in the comments.  A special prize if you know.

Look up at the blue sky.  Sadly, high in the sky is the only place to glimpse
the true blue of the sky because of the haze of smoke from local forest fires.

Check out the links below if you want to listen to the forester's lessons:

  

Learning about trees

Indigenous knowledge about conks

Twin Flower

We made it to this glorious destination overlooking Shuswap Lake. 
The spot is a bit off the path, only known to the forester.  

Proof that I was actually on the hike.  A hazy view over the Shuswap Lake.

On the trip home, we learned about what it takes to be a path keeper.  Greg Bates walked along with us carrying gardening clippers to cut back stray branches along the path.  Although he didn't carry his chainsaw today, we got  a little lesson on how one clears large trunks that fall across the path.  Be careful sometimes the tree surprises you and torques in a direction that will knock you off your feet.  Just ask Greg. Listen to him describe recent work on the trail and how one clears a trail

The path home - downhill.

The finish line - back at Glen's home.

At the end of Arta's blog post on Avatar Grove she wrote: "A holy experience. If I go again, I will take with me that same forester who guided my eyes to places I could not see on my own." I'm feeling so grateful for the chance I had to walk through the forest with that same forester. If I never get to Avatar Grove, I will still count myself lucky to have walked the forest around Annis Bay with my uncles.  Another forest that my mother loved.  

And who knows, maybe I will get back to T'l'oqwxwat with this same beloved forester. I can only hope.