Fog Silence

A short trip into the middle elevations near Mt. Pilchuck this Sunday reminded me of how wonderfully silent the ancient forest can be when it's wrapped in a fog blanket. The fog got thicker as the afternoon went on and by the time I was on my way back I could hardly see across the lake at all - I could clearly see the ridge on the far side when I got there a few hours earlier. The lake had a skim of ice on it, which blended nicely with the fog to take away the sense of distance. The huge cedars around me seemed to absorb the mist.

Stopping occasionally, I could pick out small sounds at some distance, since all the "background noise" was completely gone thanks to the fog. An animal pawing the ground, then over the other way the hoot of an owl. Silence is an immersive experience, and one that's getting more and more rare every year with the advance of motorized civilization from all directions into lonely places like this. It's worth preserving.

A very quiet lake in an unfortunately very un-protected part of the National Forest in the North Cascades.