The wilderness is perhaps one of the most exquisite portraits of life on the planet. It captures the soul and if you really examine it and let yourself be carried away by the chirping of birds and the rushing water of the river, you become one with the forest. If you spend enough time there, your senses become almost enlightened as you hear every cracking sound and smell the wet ground covered in pine needles. The life of the forest begins to connect with you as you go deeper. If you stop and sit, all your worries and thoughts will begin to fade away and you will begin to receive what the forest has to offer. You begin to find yourself and become more intertwined with Mother Nature than you ever thought possible. This description is of my home, the place I grew up as a child. I lived in the Mount Hood Forest until I was 5, when we moved to the city. We still kept our cabin and lived there half the time and went there as much as possible. My favorite time to go to the cabin is in the dead of winter. This is mostly because I love snow. Skiing is one of my favorite things to do up there, along with hiking in the wilderness. The forest I grew up in and know best is the one behind my cabin, surrounded by natural boundaries that are the Salmon River and a beautiful ridge covered in rhododendron bushes with wonderful giant pink flowers. This little section of forest has held so much even though it is only about two square miles. Ever since I was born I have loved going for walks with my mother and picking cranberries. We usually harvest about 10 cups a year, which is a lot considering how many there are in the forest. We will make everything imaginable from that delicious berry. Cakes, pancakes, jam, syrup, whatever you want. Once at yes... middle of paper... you're twenty feet in that forest. As soon as you step outside, your nostrils immediately fill with the crisp scent of pine and life. It's such a vivid smell you can almost taste it. When you start walking towards the stream you can hear the water flowing almost in harmony with the chirping of the birds around you. You can feel the sun warming your skin as you step in and out of the shade. The air is cold and crisp but when you walk in a sunny place you find yourself at the perfect temperature. With each step small sticks crackle at your feet and you can feel the soft, moist, pine needle-covered forest floor crush beneath your feet. When you stop walking and close your eyes the only thing on your mind is nature. All your stress and fears vanish as if it were nothing. You achieve your inner peace and feel truly happy. This is what the forest brings you: happiness.