Decker Creek — Armstrong Redwoods, California

Decker Creek runs through the Bull Creek State Wilderness in southern Humboldt County through a stand of the tallest trees on earth — not a named destination, not on any recommended itinerary, just a creek and the redwoods that have grown beside it for a thousand years. Greg arrived at first light in fall, when the water level is low enough to walk the creek bed and the angle of the morning sun reaches the water through the canopy gap that only exists at this latitude in this season. This panorama captures the full scene: the creek in the foreground, the redwood trunks on both banks, the canopy closing above, the light arriving in a column so specific it seems directed. The creek was cold; the trunks were warm; the light lasted perhaps twenty minutes.