Sunday Evening Reflection: Through a Forest Wilderness

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inHenry David Thoreau, John Muir, LadyBudd, Sunday Evening Reflection, WalkingTags:, , , , ,

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

John Muir

View of lake in wilderness
Rice Lake

The Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, in North Vancouver, British Columbia has over 50 kilometers of trails that lead deep within the dense forest. Some trails can only be made by those who are experienced hikers, possessing the level of physical fitness and specialized equipment required to take on the challenge of steep slopes, fast running streams and rugged terrain.

Welcome sign to Rice Lake North Vancouver

There are other trails that allow a more gentle way into the wilderness. Rice Lake is located on the edge of the Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, within the Lower Seymour Conservation Area. The three kilometer trail, full of life and pristine beauty, loops gently around the lake. Herons, owls and eagles have made Rice Lake their home. They invite us to embrace and nurture the life force of nature. To remember the profound truth that our survival is linked with theirs and all creatures that live on this earth.

Forest in Autumn sunshine

As Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.”

I invite you to share a walk along the Rice Lake Trail. It is the time between Summer and Autumn, so bring a warm sweater and wear study shoes.

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

58 thoughts on “Sunday Evening Reflection: Through a Forest Wilderness”

  1. Simply stunning, Rebecca! I didn’t take my usual stroll today along the lake, so this is a special treat this Sunday evening. How creation reveals our connection to it and all creatures is indeed truly awesome. We have those birds here too. The thought of wearing a sweater and sturdy shoes while walking arm in arm along this beautiful trail is lovely reflection before retiring for the evening. Thank you for sharing with us! Hugs and more hugs…

    Liked by 6 people

    1. I am thrilled that you joined me on this walk. We are entering my favourite time of the year – harvest time. There is a wonderful feeling in the fresh, crisp outdoors that encourages a sense of well-being. I’m pleased that you brought you sturdy boots. Hugs and more hugs coming back your way. Life is so precious…

      Liked by 4 people

    1. I’m delighted that you joined me, Elisabeth. I love your “meanwhile in Finland” tweets that feature your nature walks. Travel may have been curtailed, but I feel like I’ve just travelled to Finland when I see your photos. Hugs!!!

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      1. Loved several of your recent posts, with many more to catch up on soon. Oh dear, perhaps a hazard of my dormancy. Drat. So thrilled to be reconnecting, as well, dear friend. Ardent hugs, and smiling cheers 🙂

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  4. Lovely, lovey Rebecca. We are just back from 3 days doing forest hikes—largely because it poured nonstop and at least there was more shelter in the forests, in Glencoe. So this just the best thing to see this morning.

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    1. You went to Glencoe!!! Oh, I wish I could have been there with you. One of my most favourite places in Scotland. Truly magical. I’m glad that we can share the path and overcome the barrier of location. Sending many hugs.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Dear Rebecca,
    thank you very much for taking us on this splendid walk. GREAT!
    Looking forward to seeing you tonight
    Klausbernd
    Greetings from the rest of
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I am so glad that The Fab Four of Cley joined me on the path. And a very special thank you Klausbernd for a wonderful discussion – I enjoy our conversations. I have difficulty saying his name, but I love his words! “Remember to live.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Sending much love and many hugs to my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

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      1. Thank you sooooo much, dear Rebecca. You made it that easy for me to do this podcast about colours. And thank you very much for Don as well for his perfect recording techniques. I was very impressed by his recording studio.
        Well, Goethe is quite hard hard to pronounce for English speaking people, but that’s okay. There are so many English names I can only pronounce in my funny way.
        Many thanks again, big HUGs and lots of love from the North Norfolk coast to Vancouver
        Klausbernd
        and the rest of
        The Fab Four of Cley
        🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I have been practicing saying “Goethe” As you know, I am taking on a huge challenge in the coming months: Faust. I am fascinated by Goethe’s ability explain complexity using poetry and narratives. I just found this quote: If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I love our conversations, and look forward to the many that are awaiting our arrival. Many thanks, many hugs and lots of love coming to my dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley.

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      3. Goethe was seen as the last polymath. I would say together with his friend Alexander von Humboldt. We can’t imagine how Goethe and Humboldt talked together because both tended to holding long monologues and nobody was allowed to interrupt them.
        Goethe had a feeling for the German language I admire greatly.
        The narrative of “Faust I” is straight forward but the narrative of “Faust II” is much more complicated and full of mythological innuendos.
        Now I have to help our neighbour who came around yesterday evening. He is at the end with his nerves as he is caring for his ancient mother and has no more life of his own.
        HUGS XXX
        Klausbernd 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  8. An absolutely beautiful walk, so good to join you. This path through the trees is one of the easiest, some of the paths through this lovely mountainside are not this easy to navigate. And this place of beauty is not to far from us! We live in a beautiful place in God’s world.

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    1. I agree wholeheartedly – we live in a beautiful world that offers us sunshine, rain, breezes, solitude, songbirds, crickets and the colours of the rainbow. You are right that there are paths in this conservation area that are difficult to master and are best left to those who understand how to navigate in the wilderness.

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    1. Welcome to a new week of possibilities. I am looking forward to turning the page of our calendar from August to September. We have lived a memorable year together, my friend. Sending much love and many hugs along with my gratitude for sharing your creative spirit we our community.

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      1. Ah, thank you so much, my dearest Rebecca! I’m also looking forward to that. This change is one of my favorites as we move to Autumn.
        Happy Tuesday!
        Many hugs and love your way! xo
        ps I’m also very grateful for being part of that beautiful community!

        Like

    1. I was thinking of your marvelous bench series, Sylvia. I love our discussions and I believe that, sitting on Grace’s bench, we could put the world to rights under the gentle guidance of nature and Grace’s words of wisdom. As Albert Einstein reminds us: “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. “ Many thanks and many hugs!!🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️❤️

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    1. I am so glad that we have many of these gateways in our world. They are the places of reconciliation and illumination – of belonging. Thank you for sharing these moments. Hugs!!

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    1. It is for me as well, Liz. This was my Father’s favourite season. I am glad he moved on to a new adventure during the time he loved most. It was a day of sunshine and blue skies. In his early life, he was a cowboy, herding cattle in Montana. As I left his hospital room for the last time, I heard his nurse say: My dear friend, I wish you well on your last ride.” Sending hugs!

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      1. Thank you for sharing the memory of your dad’s passing. I wasn’t able to be there for mine, but I took comfort in my mother’s description of it. She and a very close friend of theirs at his bedside each holding his hand as they.

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  13. Rebecca, this is a glorious forest! 😀 Thank you for letting us tag along and enjoy the supreme beauty of the landscape. Good thing you mentioned to bring a coat as it got a bit nippy in the shade and the circle of stones was a perfect place for a quick break! I love the quotes and as John Muir says, do indeed feel as if I’ve touched the edge of the universe!

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    1. Annika – I am so with you. We have touched the edge of the universe together. Whenever I walk in nature, there is a sense of complete understanding of being fully in the moment, of being part of a grand narrative, of being at peace. I chose ‘reconciliation’ for 2020 – sometimes the hardest task is to be reconciled to ourselves.

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      1. That’s so true, Rebecca … once that is achieved the internal battle will hopefully be over! As for reconciliation on a larger scale, I’m have great trouble reconciling myself to this year overall!

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  14. Truly special, Rebecca; I was most definitely there with you.
    As much as I love to walk in nature I am finding dance taking over. I have been learning the Latin rhythms of late; Cha Cha, Rumba, etc. I don’t fully appreciate what meaning this has, at the moment; only that I am enjoying a ‘faster’ pace of life. I remain fully ‘in the moment’, as is one of the beauties of being in nature, and is also delightful within the moments of the dance. A meditation, of sorts, at a different tempo.
    I do seem to be wandering! However, your wonderful video showcased this for me.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. I love the Rumba and Cha Cha! When we were young, my brother and I played piano duets. The most fun duet was a “Rumba” which had us wanting to dance as well as play the piano. The movement, rhythm, and music create a marvelous enthusiasm for living. My dear friend, you have me dancing. And yes, I agree wholeheartedly, dancing IS meditation because it embraces our whole being.

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      1. How wonderful that must have been. Playing piano has always been something I’d love to do.
        And Thank You for understanding the ’embrace’ that is dance. Music and dance. What a wonderful combination.

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  15. The rhythm of Latin American music for me is second to none, and as a very amateur practitioner of percussion instrument, of the bongos and conga drums variety etc, and a long time passionate dancer starting at the age of 11 and 12 years old, influenced by dancing parents, I can surely relate to your piano duets of the Latin influence. How enjoyable…Again a terrific post, Rebecca…

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    1. What would we do without dance in our lives, Jean-Jacques? It is a conversation between body and soul, isn’t it. A way to connect with others, with history. And it is closely associated with poetry. So let us keep on dancing!!!

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    1. I know that there is a story in this forest wilderness, Teagan. There was a light glimmer that came up in the mist surrounding the trees, beckoning me to enter. But I must confess, I stayed on the path. Maybe next time, I will answer the call… Hugs coming back with much speed.

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  18. You live in an extraordinary place. The area around Vancouver is perhaps the only climate in the world classified as a true Temperate Rainforest.
    When younger, I learned that it is a Mediterranean Rainforest…the ONLY
    one in the world.
    Well, whatever, it is a very special place, a true poem of nature. Thank you for the delicious walk, Rebecca!

    Liked by 4 people

      1. Yes, I also saw that.
        Seems there are differences from when I was in school/college.
        I was told “Mediterranean Rainforest”.
        A very distinct memory though it may be, it seems science has refined its definition.
        I have a lot of questions about this.

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      2. I have a vague recollection of the name “Mediterranean rainforest” from high school days. But I confess that I did skip a few classes to head to the local coffee shop. YIKES!

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  19. Beautiful. I hear so much about Vancouver and the beautiful parks and trails. I live in Oregon, and just love the northwest landscape, the moss and firs, the deep forest. Someday I’ll get up there. 🙂

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    1. We are almost neighbours!! I look forward to the time we meet up on the trail to Rice Lake. And in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy following your adventures. Thank you so much for connecting – very much appreciated.

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  20. What a beautiful post, Rebecca! I really enjoyed the walk together. I live in the Southwestern US, have done a good bit of traveling in the western half of the country, & this definitely reminds me of parts of Colorado & Oregon. So gorgeous. Thank you for sharing your outdoors! (BTW, I love the stories of John Muir & quote him often, too.)

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    1. Hello Lisa! I am delighted that you joined me at Rice Lake. Please forgive my late response. This past week, I have experienced some internet problems so was of line for about two days. I am looking forward to our ongoing dialogue. We are celebrating Thanksgiving this week in Canada. I am grateful that we connected!

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