Nature's Wonder

Aaah the beauty of nature all around you.

You have been walking for quite some time to get

this far and now it's time to set up

camp.

There's no suitable place to put up your tent

then you notice a nice green patch

completely devoid of trees and only

sprinkled with some low growing bushes.

you go there smug about your find

and get to work on the tent. You notice that the ground

is unusually soft and smooth,but that

doesn't bother you too much. All the

better now that the pegs go into the soil, like a

knife into butter. By the time you're

done, it's dark, so you get inside

the tent and crawl into your cozy

sleeping bag. Suddenly you wake up from a creepy

feeling that something's not right? You

feel wet, you start wriggling inside your

bag, and it's almost completely

soaked from below. You rush out of the

tent as quickly as you can and see that

it started to sink into the ground! It turns

out, that you've set up camp in a swamp.

You dont reconize this until you're knee-deep

and trouble getting out of there can be

tricky as well. The moss and roots create

a soft padding that's slowly pulling you

under and when you try to raise your

feet you might end up without your boots!

Being in a forest swamp is fairly easy

when you know what to look for. If you're

in a dense thick and see a lush sunlit

glade wear nothing but moss and an

occasional bush grows, chances are high,

it's a swamp. You can also check it by

stepping lightly on the serene ground

if it feels springy, better stay away!

Another thing, the swamp can be

dangerous for, is surprisingly, a forest

fire if you stay too close to a swamp

and start a campfire it might catch on

especially if there's a strong wind.

Swamps and marshes are chock full of tar

hidden underneath the layers of water

and moss, when it starts to burn,

extinguishing it is nearly impossible.

Always keep a safe distance from any

swamp before starting a campfire.

Another common mistake while breaking camp in

the wild is not looking up. Let's say you

found some solid ground to put up the

tent, cleared it from all the nasty cones

and stones, and made sure there aren't

any ant hills close by. You don't want

anything to creep inside your sleeping

bag at night do you?

The spot you've chosen is perfect and

the tree your tent is leaning to,

protects you from the wind and rain. You

set up for the night turning off your

camping light, and suddenly your tent is

thrashing as if a wild beast has

attacked you. Bewildered, you scrambled

out and see a huge branch has fallen on

top of your tent.

The worst thing about this, is that you

would have seen it coming if only you'd

look up before setting up camp. Half

broken and rotten branches are easy to

spot and it's never a good idea to put

your tent straight beneath them. Such a

thing can break off at any moment and

you'll be lucky if it doesn't tear your

tent and injuries occur. Many tourists make this mistake every year,

and often paid dearly for it. Looking up

will also help you make sure there are

no wasp nests or spider nets above you.

These might prove even worse than a

branch because wasps don't like to be

disturbed and spiders may turn out to be

venomous. If you see a beautiful

river and decide to break camp on its

banks, pay special attention to where

exactly you put up your tent, as well if

you stay too close to the water,

especially in spring or fall. Chances are

you'll find yourself afloat in the

middle of the night!

Always check the weather forecast for

the day and the night after. If there's a

chance of rain, better stay away from any

bodies of water, especially rivers. The

rain might raise the water level in it

and make it burst its banks, drowning

your little camp and ruining your

vacation. But even if you're far from

water, rain could spoil it for you. So

you're once again deep in the forest and

tree crowns are protecting you from the

weather precipitation. It still gets to the

forest floor but at least it's not as

bad as in the open.The next night when

you set up camp in another place, you

feel the ground is soft and springy, it's

not a swamp though, just the last night's

rain has loosened the soil. If you're in

such a spot, better move to somewhere

solid. The thing is that soft and loose ground

might start creeping out from under you, and

at any point this movement isn't as

dangerous as when you're in a swamp. But

the pegs of your tent might come loose

too and you'll end up buried underneath

a pile of rugs that used to be your tent! If you decided to set up your camp

in a cozy looking Valley and the rain

starts falling when you're already there,

well, prepare for a nice floating trip!

All the water will naturally go down and

into your shelter, eventually finding its

way under your tent. No wonder you'll

find yourself knee-deep in rain water

when you wake up! Oh what a great spot

for taking a bit of rest after a long

walk! It's on a Hilltop; so there's no

water nearby the sun's shining, and not a

single tree to block it out. Sunbathing

here has got to be fabulous! Well it

seems this way for the first few hours,

but when you stay here long enough,

you'll see the error of your decision.

Direct sunlight on your tent can make it

hot in a matter of hours, due to the

materials it's made of, and you'll feel

it on your skin as soon as you crawl

inside. Let's just say you won't want to

stay in there for long until it's night

and the tents cool down. At least same

thing with the wind in an open spot. Gus

can reach crazy speeds and if you

haven't been careful while hammering

down the pegs, you might say goodbye to

your tent sooner than you'd like!

It's best to find a spot near a tree that

would protect you both from the sun and

the wind. Still don't get tempted to camp

near a lone tree when the weather

forecast isn't in your favor. Both sunny

and rainy weather are okay, but if

there's a serious storm coming, a single

standing tree will serve as a lightning

rod. It's not hard to imagine what may

come, if lightning strikes a tree, you're

camping under. You might get a charge

out of it!

When winter camping, the weather can be

even more treacherous. Remember what I

said about direct sunlight, forget it in

winter. It's best to have the sun shining

on your tent. The cold might get you, no

matter how cool and expensive your tent

is. The winds are generally much more

vicious in the cold season. Direct

sunlight will help you cope with much of

the coal.

One of the more common mistakes hikers

make, is starting a campfire too close to

the tent. The material of the tent

conducts heat very well, and it's a good

thing when it's warm, but it also catches

on fire easily. Sometimes one spark is

enough to burn your shelter. Descenders

make sure there's enough room between

your tent and the campfire. Never

leave your fire unsupervised when you go

to sleep. It's a rule to extinguish the

fire, so that you don't wake up to a

blazing Inferno around you.

Insects can ruin even the most exciting

height. Mosquitoes, ants, ticks and other

pesky bugs, can find their way into your

tent wherever you are, so make sure you

protect yourself from them. Use Skin

repellents when you go outside, and put

an anti-insect spiral next to the

entrance to your tent. Don't put it too

close, or inside, though the smell is

irritating and it can also cause a fire.

To avoid the best part of mosquitoes and

especially ticks, try to stay away from

lakes ponds and dense forests where

swamps may occur. Skeeters reproduce in

still water, so areas around such pools

are replete with the wing pests.They

have a hard time flying when there's

some wind so choosing an open spot is

your best bet to get rid of them. Don't

let them bug you!

This spiky tree knows how to shoot, so

you better stay away from it! It's called

a Sandbox tree, You can find it in

Amazonia. Initially its seeds are formed

in the shape of a small Pumpkin. As time

goes by, they hardened and mature, but here

comes the fun part, just as they reach

Peak maturity, the seeds pop and shoot

out at a speed of 150 miles per hour.

They can even reach distances of 60 feet.

That's what makes it so risky to be in

their way during the blast process, not

to mention the seeds are poisonous.

Some trees don't grow completely

upright, but a tree that's all together

bent with its branches even touching the

ground, is a sight not to be missed. Such

a tree called the El Arbol de la Sabina,

grows in Spain. its shape depends on the

wind, as the tree bends in its direction,

as a result, not only does it often have

a weird shape, but it can also change it

completely during different times of the

year. This flexible tree can reach more

than 26 feet in height and tends to grow

in the most improbable of locations like

on rocks.

How about a tree that's as old as

dinosaurs discovered in 1994. The Wallami

pine tree species can be seen in the

Blue Mountains of Sydney Australia. It

dates back to over 200 million years, so

it's easy to believe dinosaurs might

have even roamed around it, since these

trees are endangered and only 100

exhibits exist to this day. In the wild,

the scientists don't feel like

disclosing their location. They want to

make sure the trees are well preserved.

They're important for science as

studying them may help us uncover new

information on the Earth's past. The bark

of the tree can teach us many different

things, like different temperature

periods or exposure to various chemicals.

The tree of life gets its name, because

it's able to withstand difficult

conditions and actually thrive located

in the desert outskirts of Bahrain. The

Prosopis center area has a very deep

root system, which allows it to survive

in the scorching heat. Scientists

still can't find out how it manages to

get sufficient water. It's so special

that it gathers over 50 000 tourists

each year.

La India dormita in Panama is a

mountainous area that's shaped like the

body of a sleeping girl. It's part of a

bigger mysterious region called Laval de

Anton, one of the largest inhabited

dormant volcanoes in the world, and it

has some pretty weird trees. Square

ones... even the rings of these trees

meaning the interior of their trunks are

the same shape with sharp edges.

Sometimes even at a perfect 90 degree

angle, researchers have tried to piece

together why these trees grow in this

particular shade. They even tried taking

samples of some of the trees and

planting them elsewhere to see if they

retain that shape. It wasn't the case, so

it's clear that the odd shape of the

trees has something to do with the

valley itself. Some people believe that a

local farmer might have originally

planted the trees in boxes, forcing the

trees to grow like that to reduce Lumber

waste. Since round trees often end up

being cut in sharp angled pieces

one of the oldest and biggest trees in

the world is found in the Sequoia

National Park of the United States. It's

called General Sherman, and stretches at

275 feet. It's almost as big as the

Statue of Liberty. Its circumference is

equally as impressive as near the ground.

It is around 102 feet, as for his

age we can only guess it to be between

300 and 700 years.

There are a lot of beautiful species of

trees out there, but none is striking as

the Rainbow Eucalyptus found in the

Philippines. It almost looks hand-painted,

because of its multi-colored layers of

bark. This tree also Shades its layers

irregularly, which means it shows a lot

of colors at once, from green to blue

then purple to orange, and then finally

reaching brown. It's not used for

decorating purposes but rather for paper

manufacturing.

Located in Namibia is a tree that's also

weird in shape and pretty dangerous, the

Bottle Tree.. okay in terms of shape, it's

pretty self-explanatory, with a round

trunk that narrows down toward the top,

but the milky sap harvested from the

tree is extremely poisonous. Legend has

it that local Hunters used to dip their

arrows in it for added efficiency. It

does look really beautiful! During Bloom

season with flowers that grow in pink

and white with a red center.

To see a crooked tree every now and

then isn't so special, but to see a whole

forest of them, you'd have to travel to

the Polish town of Graffino. There is a forest made out of 400 oddly

shaped trees. They have been curved with

mechanical intervention. They didn't just

grow like that, but their purpose remains

a mystery to this day. Some have said

it's because the wood from the trees was

intended for furniture, or even for the

construction of boats, but either way, the

forest was eventually abandoned.

Cotton trees has taken over the ancient

Tome temples of Cambodia, creating a

spectacular view! The massive branches of

the silk cotton trees were free to grow

over the structures. For agents going

back as far as the 12th century the

temples have been restored and are

accessible to tourists.

The Dragon's blood tree grows in the

Canary Islands of northwest Africa.

Locals used to say that once a dragon

passes away, it transforms into a tree

standing at an impressive 50 feet in

length. The tree is named like that due

to its red sap, which can be harvested

from the bar. The red substance to this

day is used for dyes, and in medicine

one of the biggest oldest and most

impressive trees in the world is the

Sunland Baobab tree. It's 72 feet high

and has a circumference of 155 feet. It's

located in South Africa. What makes it

even more spectacular, is the fact that

it is naturally hollow inside, so a small

lounge was set up inside the tree back

in 1933. It initially could support up to

20 individuals, but it can now host up to

60 people, not to mention the tree dates

back over 6 000 years.

Silver birch tree spread across

Scandinavia and Northeast Europe, and

found a way to reflect light. Its bark

became lighter in color, and during the

colder season when its branches also

freeze over, the site is something of a

natural Winter Wonderland! It also

developed a partnership with a fungus,

that connects to its roots and fans out

under the forest, gathering up nutrients

that trees can't reach. This

Services the tree, gives the fungus

sugars in return. The Burgess companion

is dangerous and shouldn't be consumed

by people. It's easy to recognize with

the classical Scarlet top red sprinkled

mushroom head.

A natural Festival not to be missed, is

Japan's cherry blossom season. The

pinkish White Blossom is deeply rooted

in Japanese culture, going hand in hand

with a local saying called Mano no arare..

was I even close on that?, which

relatively translates to the fact that

everything is temporary regardless of

how perfect or beautiful it is. Should

you ever visit Japan, you'll quickly see

that the cherry blossom symbol is

everywhere from company logos to even

clothing or household items.

Yosemite National Park in California

once had an amazing tree structure that

was turned into a tunnel. It was a coast

Redwood tree stretching 227 feet tall. It

was nicknamed Wallona, the native

American word for the hood of an owl. The

tree fell in 1969 because of a heavy

snow but it survived as an ecosystem for

animals plants and insects. It's now

called the ''Fallen tunnel tree''.

Century species known as Forcapas River

Vet, it is the rarest plant

on earth. The Guinness World Record Book

recorded one single tree of its kind off

the coast of New Zealand. It wasn't

always that lonely, but humans brought

goats to the island which nipped at

every other member of its family.

Luckily scientists are looking at ways

to plant new specimens.

If you pacified your curiosity, stay on the bright

side!