Tree of Life

This sitka spruce, called the “Tree of Life”, clings to an quickly eroding bluff on Ruby Beach in Olympic National Park. These trees are known for their tenacity for life and are characterized by their dramatic forms shaped by the rough lives they live. It stretches across a void carved by years of wind and water, its roots exposed and hanging like an organic, upside-down suspension bridge. The tree has created a natural cave beneath it’s roots and boughs.

Just months before I made this image, the tree slid more than five feet. Its grip slips. When it falls, it will likely die, ending a life which began more than a century ago. Since its life began as a sapling, it has witnessed two world wars, the Great Depression, the founding of the park itself, and countless king tides slowly pulling the earth out from beneath it.

I’m grateful to have seen it like this, still standing. Even if it manages to hold on another lifetime, this particular scene will be forever changed.

Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington