In the Oregon/Washington volume of The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader, Bob Cox introduces us to the iconic personality of Cyrus Bingham, a bigger-than-life Forest Ranger in the early 1900s. As Bingham wandered the high country of the Central Oregon Cascades, he left a series of arboglyphs (tree carvings). By their very nature, arbogylphs are temporary … dependent upon a living entity for their longevity. Some still remain for the most dedicated sleuths (Cox located some 30 beginning with his first discovery in 1968). Above are some representations of several of the carvings that Cox discovered.
For those of you who are hiking in the Waldo Lake and Cowhorn Mountain area of the PCT, keep your eyes open for traces of this past . . . a slowly disappearing forest artifact.