thrash, hack

When I mentioned in my Age of Aquarius post that Phil and I had been "hacking our way through trackless rainforest," Phil objected that "hacking" suggested that we had had machetes, and also (he added later) that we were moving through the forest in a rather destructive way.

I wondered what verb would give me the sense of "hacking, but without machetes and therefore (a) more environmentally sensitive but also (b) much more difficult and hence (c) ultimately a more compelling tale."

Teresa offered "thrashing."  Close.  In place of the decisive male hard-k of hacking, thrashing offers a sibilant, the sound of plants brushing past us, and the awkward sound of "thr" gets a bit of the leftright lurching quality of our motion.

So yes, we were thrashing, and on the way, I was waving the camera about.  The blurriest ones seem best at recalling the experience.

 

 

This rainforest huddles on the eastfacing slopes of the Illawarra Escarpment, near Austinmer between Sydney and Wollongong.  Apart from the stinging trees (Dendrocnide) and various prickly shrubs, the biggest obstacle was presented by lianas -- vines that have thickened into woody trunks while retaining their scribbly form.  

(Like "mangrove", "liana" is not a species but a lifestlyle; many unrelated plants have learned to grow this way.)

As often in rainforests, the only real view is at the edge.  With the rainforest all around you, it's hard to see figure and ground, and even harder to manage the uneven light, which explains my abstract expressionism above.  Only at the edge, where the rainforest gives way to sunny slopes awash with exotic Lantana, could I form a conventional view.

Comments

[Denis Wilson]

Hi Jarrett
I like the term "bush bashing", myself for what some of my more enthusiastic bushwalking friends do. My own style I refer to as "rambling", which is suitably ambiguous, I feel. Your "hacking" also has the unfortunate Internet ambiguity about it.
Loved your photo of the Liana.
Did you see any Strangler Figs? They have remarkable structures once they have suffocated the original support in tree, and it has rotted out. A feature of the northern Illawarra Escarpment rainforests.
Cheers
Denis

[wanderer]

Isn't the thing with dense bush and rainforest the use of the hands and arms, the alternate separation left right, the constant weight shifting ('thr'), the uneven progress and times of retreat and detour?So while it isn't especially onomatopoeic, 'forge' comes to mind, a bit of force, a bit of forward, a bit of go, without being overly or overtly (or both) destructive.

That said, 'walking' through a rainforest displays a considerable Australian flair for understatement, quite nice really.

[Teresa]

Wow! Jarrett, these photos take me out of myself completely and toss me into the void. It's a good place for learning. ( And I did not know that about liana. thanks!) That last photo seems almost to have a creature in it (of reptilian look). The idea of not getting clear view except at the edges resonates with me as writer and dancer, and of course the overall post makes me want to quit work early and go look up stuff in the library.

Teresa