Friday, April 23, 2010

on of my favourite places on earth - the Pacific Rim National Park


Rainforest Trail Pacific Rim National Park - British Columbia

The trail system is a two part adventure and experience into the history of a living rainforest. The walking trail is mostly boardwalk with many interpretive signs along the route. i did it in December and it was gorgeous!

The Rainforest Hiking Trail weaves in and out of fallen trees surrounded by gigantic red cedar and western hemlock trees which tower high above, reaching towards the sky, creating an umbrella-like forest canopy. The trail is an audio theatre experience filled with wilderness sounds like singing birds, trickling water, crackling twigs, scurring wildlife and drifting ocean breezes mixed with a moist scent of forest.

The Pacific Rim Hwy divides the Rainforest Trail into " Loop A" and "Loop B" trail sections forming the number 8. Each loop trail is approximately 1 kilometre in length, mostly an easy going boardwalk trail with, what some would call, speed bumps like wooden stair climbing. There are areas to rest while reading the interpretive signs along the route.

The trail is an up and down affair, dropping in and out of sunken forest valleys passing alongside fallen trees buried in moss sprouting new trees growing from the decayed wood and vegetation.

"Loop A" starts on the otherside of the parking lot, across the Pac Rim Hwy. The route is lined with interpretive signs discussing the history and life cycles of a rainforest. From the parking lot, you can walk to the beginning of the "Loop B" portion of the Rainforest Trail. The interpretive signs discuss the forest environment and the wildlife which inhabit the forest.

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