During my visit to the Bay Area in California, I could not resist a visit to the Muir Woods. This national monument in Marin County, a stone’s throw north of San Francisco, acts as a sanctuary for ancient redwoods, covering an area of approximately 558 acres, with their towering forms reaching upwards of 75 meters. It’s almost a miracle that this enclave of ancient nature persists so near a bustling metropolis (knowing the big forest logging history of USA’s West Coast). The forest is a living museum, showcasing the Redwoods—survivors from a lineage of conifers that thrived over 144 million years ago, in an era ruled by dinosaurs.
My two-hour journey through Muir Woods was met initially with a sense of unease. The big groups of tourists and the cacophony they brought clashed with my expectations of tranquility, reminiscent of the serene vibes in Taiwan’s Alishan or the monk’s chanting and the forest silence in the sacred spaces in Japan’s Koyasan, where I could feel the sublime. Despite my long-held anticipation of encountering these majestic trees of the Redwood Forests – which I had for almost two decades-, the reality fell short of expectation.
However, as time passed, my initial disappointment and anxiety began to fade. Perhaps my inability to immediately connect with the wonder of the redwoods reflected an inner disquiet. Slowing my pace, I endeavored to truly ‘see’ the trees, to feel their bark beneath my fingertips. By the time I boarded the bus to leave, I realized this visit was merely another checkbox on my tourist itinerary, not the experience of the sublime I had expected. This realization was sobering; it wasn’t the quick, transformative nature fix I sought.
Reflecting on this, the visit felt like a casual, almost mundane experience—akin to having coffee with my grandmother. Not the trendy, artisanal coffee but the straightforward, black coffee with a hint of plastic aroma, served in the sterile environment of a nursing home. Yet, maybe that’s the essence of connecting with these ancient ‘granny trees,’ akin to spending time with elder humans—unpretentious, real, and grounding.
Stories from the Wood Wide Web 