I went to Cook Forest today with George where we hiked two circular trails. We lucked out with the weather, we encountered rain on the drive up and on the return trip. But during the hours of hiking we were periodically greeted with rays of sunlight pouring through the canopy and remained dry for the duration of our hike. The first loop was about four miles, two of which were seemingly straight up hill. The paths led us through the Old Growth portion referred to as the "Forest Cathedral." This is a deserved name for a temple of towering old hemlocks. I have been in a few pockets of Old Growth forest in our state before, but none so large. The trees towered over our heads with such presence, it is clear it could be some place sacred. If I were to choose, this would be my place of atheist worship. The second loop was a small (a little over two miles) circular trail that led us through the stands of Old Growth White Pines. A species and a forest much more reminiscent of what is seen in Eastern parts of the state. The trails and under-story were open and soft with thick layers of pine needles. As per usual, there were bugs and frogs and mushrooms to pick up and poke at. I am apparently gaining the reputation of touching everything and everything that most people consider disgusting. Rooting around in dirt and under rocks for beetles, getting urinated on by a toad I was holding and poking at fungus all fit into that category. This is another area I intend to return to, hopefully soon. See George's site for the GPS map and vertical profile, an excellent way to visualize what the hike was like. I need to start bringing my GPS unit along and start a similar image log of the hiking I do.