Lost Forty
Photo by Chuck Hoffman © Genesis+Art
Scientific and Natural Area
Itasca County, Minnesota
In 1882, Josias King made a miscalculation of mapping Coddington Lake in Minnesota, making it larger than it is. For decades, loggers left the trees in this area alone, thinking they were under water. It remains one of the last remaining old-growth forest in the state.
On our recent saunter, exploring The Lost Forty, we discovered trees that tower a hundred feet above the forest floor – a ceiling as high as in prehistory and a rare site in today’s world. King’s mistake preserved the natural beauty of this place. As we walked among the giant pillars of this green cathedral, we were reminded of our time living in the wilderness of the Cascade Mountains. These were not the 600-year-old Ponderosa Pines, firs and cedars found near our mountain home, but the red and white pines of northern Minnesota. This is the largest single surviving patch of old-growth forest in the state. Despite its name, the Lost Forty Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) is 144 acres and is part of the Chippewa National Forest that sprawls across 600,000+ acres of the Minnesota landscape.
The oldest trees in the Lost Forty are between 300 and 400 years old, close to their maximum natural life span, which is up to 500 years with diameters between 22 and 48 inches. With their craggy bark, massive trunks, and towering heights, these trees look like the ancient sentinels they are. There is nothing lost about this beautiful stand of trees; perhaps it should be called the Last Forty, one of the last remaining patches of old-growth forest in the state.
Being amongst these trees you sense their age and their significance in the web of life on the planet. Slowing down to be in this ancient forest brings a renewed perspective about the interconnectedness of all life. How might we find our way in today’s world to understand the earth as a gift to make our relationship with the world sacred again? How might we shift our way of living to a way that treats the living earth as a gift? To quote Thich Nhat Hanh, “walking on the Earth is a miracle! We do not have to walk in space or on water to experience a miracle. The real miracle is to be awake in the present moment.” I have sauntered down this physical and spiritual path of nature with an artist’s eye for beauty. That trail continues to rock me back on my heels in awe.
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