To get to Muir Woods, filled with its towering, regal redwoods, you have to drive through eucalyptus groves that remind me of Australia. Although, in Australia the roads are straight and long and here, they are winding and narrow.
I arrived at the park early, which was good, since it was a sunny Martin Luther King Day and by the time I left, cars were parked two miles down the road and a ranger was directing traffic.
Muir Woods doesn’t have the largest redwoods, but its trees are some of the most historic. It’s an easy two-mile hike from beginning to end. But if you stay on the main paved trail, you’ve sort of missed the whole point.
You see, a redwood needs to be touched. In fact, a redwood needs to embrace you. You need to sit inside its trunk and feel the slow beat of time, hundreds and hundreds of years. Sure, you can march through the forest and stay on the main trail, even gaze up in wonder, but to really reap the benefits of a redwood you must sit and listen. Sit and dream. Sit and absorb the ancient knowledge of trees and the magic of the forest.
I can’t tell you what it will whisper to you. I can only tell you that it’s a joy to listen.
Something I have wanted to experience but have not yet. I can almost feel the peacefulness, the calm intelligence of the redwoods, in what you wrote. Makes the yearning even greater. Someday… Hope they are still there when the opportunity arises.
Muir Woods is in the county where I grew up so I have “listened” to the redwoods on many occasions. It is truly an opportunity to experience the gifts of God! If you are able to visit Muir Woods someday, continue on the same road and head on down to Stinson Beach and let the ocean whisper to you, too!
All of nature ‘whispers’ to us and hugs us close. After I spend any time in nature, I always feel like I’ve spent time with my Grandma, who died when I was 16 and she was 64, but who still whispers to me when I stop to listen.
This is so uncanny! I came across a book written about John Muir this morning. John Muir said, “Going to the woods is going home.” He also said, “In every walk with nature one receives far more that he seeks.” Amen, enough said!
I loved my visit to Muir Woods. To me, it was liking walking into a Gothic cathedral. High ceiling, thick walls, hushed. I didn’t dare speak above a whisper
It’s been so long since I was there…thanks for taking me back to that spiritual place!
I was there a few years ago. It is truly a magnificant place! It is overwhelming to look through the trees and up into the greenery.