A Conspiracy of Trees
A Conspiracy of Trees I want to revisit a forest walk— maybe this one near Lake St. Clair in Tasmania (the trek that prompts this essay) or ridge-top nothofagus in New Zealand’s Tararuas, or the old, twisted orchards that surrounded my boyhood home— to think about empiricism, specifically “radical empiricism,” and the problem of representation […]
Rectify
Rectify A healthy eucalyptus/nothofagus rainforest swallows you completely. Old growth eucalyptus trees easily measure 6’ diameters and tower out of sight with the beech serving as understory. Most striking though are the downed trunks of giants matted with moss, ferns, and other epiphytes building new soil and providing habitat for countless organisms. The air is […]
In Tasmania Day 23
In Tasmania Day 23 Lake St Clair to Launceston Woke early and on stepping out of my bunkhouse room I encountered a wombat— he just stared at me for a bit, then shuffled off. On my last day in the bush I finally see the animal responsible for all that scat I’ve been dodging on […]
In Tasmania Day 22
In Tasmania Day 22 Narcissus Hut to Lake St Clair 17.5 km Early up as a fellow trekker was banging about the hut cooking area. Pulled all my stuff together and took off before 7. It was a quant day— 17.5 km and wanted to arrive in time for lunch before (hoping to) catch the […]
In Tasmania Day 21
In Tasmania Day 21 Pine Valley Hut to Labyrinth then Narcissus Hut 14 km Slept in a bit as I’d planned to spend two nights here. The others got off early even though it was very cold and still overcast. Packed a day pack and ventured up the mountain about 8:30. More mossy rainforest then […]
In Tasmania Day 20
In Tasmania Day 20 Bert Nichols Hut to Pine Valley Hut 11 km Snow! Woke to a snow globe view (for all you northern hemisphere folks, it is the middle of summer here). Rain poured all night, shifting to freezing rain and snow mix in morning. Just planned to walk three hours today to […]
In Tasmania Day 19
In Tasmania Day 19 New Pelion Hut to Bert Nichols Hut 18.2 km One person I spoke with last week claimed that it rains on the Overland Track 300 days per year. My experience thus far has been pretty much that proportion. Today demanded flexibility, as the weather report was varied (for the next […]
In Tasmania Day 18
In Tasmania Day 18 Windemere to New Pelion Hut. 17 km The rain roared on the roof all night, regularly waking me, so when 6 rolled around I was ready. A problem with hut hiking is you have to be in other people’s diurnal rhythms. Some folks started rustling around so I decided it […]
In Tasmania Day 17
In Tasmania Day 17 (Jan 31) Launceston to Cradle Mountain park Ronny Creek to Windemere Hut 18.5 Km The group from the Arthouse Hostel nearly filled the Overland Transport van that took us first to a little town called Sterling for breakfast, then on to the visitor center for the incredibly popular park. We were […]