Water Into Wine
Coyote Creek · Tarbell Trail · Yacolt Burn State Forest · Yacolt · Washington · USA
Like libations spilling from an earthen chalice, a modest late-summer trickle of Coyote Creek falls in a graceful arc as if in recognition of our dogged determination (or stubborn stupidity) in returning to this "spot" http://www.redbubble.com/people/tulatop/portfolio/howling. Although our cross-country trek through hillside bramble wasn't nearly as arduous as with our last trip, the trail itself had become overgrown with alder saplings and thorn-laced salmonberry bushes. Despite wielding my trekking pole in James Clavell-inspired fashion, my forearms and lower legs were left looking like a cartographer's practice sheet, stinging from the searing heat of innumerable scarlet lines. Showering for the next three days was like death by a thousand cuts, but the visual and photographic treats that delighted all along the way were salve enough.
