Hiking Reveals Nature’s Magic
I’m working on reframing negativity in my life right now, and one way I’m doing that is by rephrasing thoughts or sentiments that sound like chores into something to be excited about. For example, “I need to exercise more,” something that I am sure every human being has thought or said at least once in their life, can become, “I get to exercise today.”
This is what I tell myself when I wake up earlier than usual on a weekend, slather myself in sunscreen, and drive out to one of Los Angeles’s many incredible hiking trails, like the ones in Runyon Canyon or Nichols Canyon. “I get to hike today, which is fun and good,” I tell myself even as I am huffing and puffing my way up a zig-zagging dirt path, until, finally, the city is laid out before me, sparkling and bright.
When you’re overlooking something beautiful, it’s easy to appreciate the hard work it took to get there. This is why I love hiking: there is always something new and interesting to feast your eyes upon. When I’m looking at my feet, dragging themselves up a slope, I might catch a lizard darting its way across the brush; when I turn my head toward the sky, I might see an Anna’s Hummingbird zipping its way amongst the trees in search of food. And beyond the rich and diverse wildlife, the views from California’s hiking trails can’t be beat: the dense rich brush of a canyon; the rolling and glittering waves crashing against the cliff below; and the soft dark shadows of impossibly tall forests. For someone who hates being bored, and who, admittedly, hates intensive workouts, hiking is the ideal form of exercise, something I am lucky to be able to do in this part of the world. As more and more of our wild spaces are cut into, we should not only appreciate those we have; we should fight to preserve them for future generations.
Clearcutting, the destructive logging practice that results in the removal of large swaths of trees, is a singular threat to California’s forests and wild spaces. Clearcutting damages forests beyond simply destroying the trees; by destroying forest habitats, the clearcut area becomes devoid of life and biodiversity. Clearcuts eliminate shade, raise soil temperature and air temperature, and lower humidity in adjacent forest areas, thus creating areas of significant fire hazard. The loss of windbreaks further exacerbates the situation. Mass planting of new trees in clearcut spaces also increases fire risk and severity; without older, diverse, and fire-resistant trees to help stem the spread, fire spreads quickly and burns hotter. Combined with the hot, dry, windy conditions that climate change has fostered, the replacement of natural forests with industrial tree farms, this can have tragic consequences. For example, previously-logged tree farms were major factors in the deadly, destructive Camp fire in 2018 and the Creek fire in 2020.
While clearcutting is not generally allowed in national parks or forests, as recently as 2018 former President Trump issued Executive Order 13855, an open-ended directive ostensibly created to mitigate wildfires, but in practice one that can be used to expand logging on public lands. On top of that, private companies own millions of acres of forests in the state, much of which they can and will clearcut in the coming years. Beyond the damage this is certain to cause to our planet, this could also cut into places people may treasure as hiking spots.
As part of a recent Los Angeles Times series, “The Ultimate Guide to Hiking in LA,” people were asked “why they hike and what trails they like.” Their answers were varied and diverse, but nearly everyone touched on the importance of connecting with nature. The physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of being out there in the world drives home the importance of the environmentalism that strives to protect our outdoor natural spaces.
Imagine walking through the undergrowth amongst California’s prized redwood trees, only to turn a corner and see an empty and bereft swath of land before you. That’s the future timber companies want to create with the destructive practice of clearcutting. Hiking is a bridge between humans and nature — what better way to appreciate the wild than walking through it on your own two feet? For me, the more I learn about something, the better I connect to it. I love hiking because I get to appreciate California’s nature up close and personally.
Here are ways you can help mitigate clearcutting: http://www.stopclearcuttingca.org/get-involved/
And here are great hiking trails in the LA area: https://www.latimes.com/travel/list/50-great-hikes-in-la
Other Resources:
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-10-14/newsom-clear-cutting-rim-fire-california
https://www.americanforests.org/our-work/restoring-californias-forests/
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