Behind the green curtain

Long stretches of highway in our Vancouver Island rainforest are like narrow halls between dense green walls. Where the evergreens have been cut back, fast-growing deciduous trees and shrubs have crowded into the newly-cleared space, cutting off the view.

What's beyond, of course, is usually more trees, but sometimes there's a river or a mountain; I catch hints of reflected light off snow or water as I drive by.

And then winter comes, the leafy curtain drops, revealing creeks and ponds and even formerly invisible lakes.

Icy pond behind the bare trunks, still out of reach without waterproof boots and a good hiking stick.

Typical highway view, April 2017. Nothing to see here: move along.

It makes for slow going: I keep pulling off, and walking back down the highway to see what I've missed. I keep looking for wildlife back there, a bear or an elk, a beaver, a herd of deer; you never know.