Walk deep into the forest to hear what you can hear
The Rainforest: Where the drapes are made of moss
Hushhhhh…. Tread softly as we enter the Emerald Cathedral, otherwise known as the Hall of Mosses and the Hoh River Trail. We are in the Olympic National Park rainforest in search of silence and the “One Square Inch” proclaimed by Gordon Hempton as the quietest place on Earth.
Verdant trees are draped with moss lace; the sunlight glitters through leaves to the forest floor. We are walking into a lime-colored world inhabited by ancients.
Listen to the music of streams tumbling over stones
The logic is this: “If a loud noise, such as the passing of an aircraft, can affect many square miles, then a natural place, if maintained in a 100% noise-free condition, will likewise affect many square miles around it. Protect that single square inch of land from noise pollution, and quiet will prevail over a much larger area of the park” (from “One Square Inch of Silence, One Man’s Quest to Preserve Quiet” by Gordon Hempton).
Roosevelt Elk: King of the Forest
It is early morning. We stumble upon an elk, right in the middle of the trail, nonchalantly munching low-lying vegetation. His short, thick antlers, covered in deep velvet, are like the trees, soft looking, yet strong. They will be magnificent later in the season. We are, however, face-to-face with the beast who obviously owns the forest. He is not moving. We are reminded that we are mere visitors here and bushwhack our way through dense underbrush to find the trail on the other side.
The directions say to cross a creek, go a little farther and walk through a stilted tree (i.e., one that used to live on a nurse log, but the log has now rotted away, leaving the tree to stand on legs), immediately turn left and follow an elk trail, go around a wet spot, and look for a long mossy log near a stump.
We laugh. Anyone who hikes the Olympics knows that a creek, a tree on legs, an elk trail, a boggy spot, and mossy logs and stumps are everywhere! It is like telling a city person to look for a fast-food joint and turn left at the light.
Doorway to Silence
Then … lo and behold …. There it is: the standing tree that is the doorway to One Square Inch. Each tree has its own personality, and this one is instantly recognizable. We turn left, follow a trail that may or may not be there in the next season, carefully get our feet wet in the bog, and spot in a ray of sunshine a red rock sitting atop a log.
Symbolic of the heartbeat of silence, a gift from the Quileute
It is not any ol’ rock. This rock was personally given to Gordon Hempton by a Quileute Elder. It has traveled to Washington DC and back to speak for the protection for future generations of something louder than roaring thunder: complete quietude. This rock holds power. It is as red as the blood of the life of this existence. It is the rock of the beating heart of the plants and wildlife who have no say as to what happens to the world around them – a world in which their survival depends on the ability to hear every small noise, crack, chirp – or absence thereof – signifying the approach of predators, the hiding of prey, the nearness of a mate.
There are other rocks in nearby locations, carefully placed by those who respect the holiness of this place. We sit, breathe deeply, and listen. We are quiet, but the forest is not. The wind rises and falls as it sifts through branches of trees. The Hoh makes a soft sshhhssshhh sound in the distance. We hear a low whomp whomp whomp of a grouse. Numerous loud insects are warming up to the day. And then the grand finale: the most elegant operetta personally sung just for us by a winter wren. Such a tremendous voice from something no bigger than a walnut! We sit for awhile longer, the sun warming our faces. It is an extraordinary day. The sun creates a dappled effect, at once highlighting and shadowing everything it touches, changing with slight breezes. Simply dazzling.
If you look up, you might fall over
We have entered a cushioned world where there are no hard edges. Everything seems to live off of each other. Ferns, moss, flowers, trees – they compete, coexist, and give all at the same time. Nothing really dies; they just live on through those to whom they give life. We are surrounded by towering giants, hundreds of years old, hundreds of feet high. We are small.
Quotes from Gordon’s book:
Listen. Can you hear the silence?
“And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lovely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?” –Chief Seattle
“See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun—how they move in silence….We need silence to be able to touch souls.” –Mother Teresa
“Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.” –Hans Margolius.
“Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything. It lives here, profoundly, at One Square Inch in the Hoh Rain Forest. It is the presence of time, undisturbed. It can be felt within the chest. Silence nurtures our nature, our human nature, and lets us know who we are….To experience the soul-swelling wonder of silence, you must hear it….Saving silence is not an inconvenient chore, but an awakening joy.” –Gordon Hempton
One Square Inch: by protecting this small spot on the planet, in effect, we are protecting an entire ecosystem. We are protecting something precious that is getting harder and harder to find: a place where man-made noise does not interfere with the natural world – a world we have almost lost.
Everyone: Listen! The forest is shouting! Just because it is a National Park does not mean there are any guarantees to protection. If you don’t listen – and hear – and understand what you are about to lose – it will be gone forever. The forest needs our voices. Please visit One Square Inch.
Thank you for visiting One Square Inch