“To know anything deeply, you need a long attention span.” - Tim Billo, UW professor

“It is day two, and I sit in the same place I did last year, in grove of old growth silver firs. The ground is completely covered in impossibly bright moss, and the trees feel like a relic of a different time. It is so very, very quiet. As I try to paint, I am amazed at how the forest seems to make its own rules about light… the laws of physics suspended in the glowing motes of bugs and the green constellations of the tree canopy far overhead. One side of a tree is in sunlight, and the other side glows orange and red with light that feels like it comes from the trees themselves. The colors seem simple at first, until I look closer, and there is a rainbow of purples and blues in every shadow. I decide to paint this place as it feels. Like stained glass, in this cathedral of trees.” - Field Journal

In July of 2023 I had the immense privilege to once again join the ENVIR 380 “Wilderness in the Anthropocene” class for their nine day backpacking trip in the Olympics. This trip is the capstone of the student’s learning experience, and it brings us through some of the most incredible and remote terrain of the National Park. Many days, we see more bears than other hikers.

Each day I painted. Sometimes I only had a few scarce minutes while the group stopped for a break on a ridge, desperately trying to dash paint and ink onto a paper that the wind wanted to steal. Most days I would sit at the edge of the circled students as they shared their presentations, sketching the views from camp or memories from the day. This page, once it is finished, will share more of my notes and photos from the trip.

Special thanks to Courtney Peets for her logistical and leadership mastery, and Tim Billo, for the invitation, navigational expertise, and inspiration.