Echoes From the Wild: The Impenetrable Forest

For those who might one day walk this path…

The forest was dense and steep. The trail was muddy, the climb relentless, and the air thick. There were moments I wondered if we’d ever get where we were going. It was the kind of hike that makes you quiet—not just because you’re out of breath, but because the forest demands it.

And then we heard him—just off the trail. A blackback, partially hidden in the brush, pulling leaves from tangled vines. He kept eating, slowly and deliberately, but at one point he looked up and locked eyes with us. Just for a moment. Then he turned back to his meal. No fear. Just calm awareness—like he’d already decided we were okay.

Blackback gorilla tearing off a forest vine, preparing to eat, while gazing toward the camera.

Then, deeper in the shadows, the silverback appeared. Resting. Watching. There was no dramatic entrance—just presence. He held our gaze with a quiet confidence. No sound. No movement. Just the feeling that we were being seen—and allowed to stay.

"Silverback gorilla lying on his stomach with his thumb near his mouth, gazing thoughtfully."​

We stood there for a while, and all the noise of the hike—the slipping, the effort, the breathlessness—just faded away. We were guests in their world, and they had decided we could remain.

If you ever find yourself in a place like this, let yourself feel it all—the climb, the exhaustion, the stillness that follows. The most powerful moments often come after the hardest ones. And sometimes, the wild looks you in the eye and reminds you that you’re not so different after all.

Preserving this forest—and the lives within it—isn’t just about protecting wildlife. It’s about keeping these moments possible. For others. For future generations. So that someone else might one day step into the clearing and feel what we felt: the quiet honor of being allowed to witness something wild and true.

— Go with your eyes and heart wide open.
Until the next wild place,

LD

Read more from this journey in the “Travel Journal” section→ [Bwindi: Into the Impenetrable Forest]