Nature is Becoming Unreliable

Twice a year, I hike a favorite trail in Oregon’s Cascade Range. I have done this for over 20 years, timing my hikes for early spring and fall. The first hike is for wildflowers, the second is for autumn leaves.

In June up high, the forest floor is lit by the spires of flowering vanilla-leaf spangled with starflowers, along with coralroot orchids. The towering conifers and mountain river lined with vine maples and dogwoods are a world apart from the cottonwood-shaded creeks of my home ground in the valley.

Visiting in fall, it’s a far more colorful spectacle. Down in the valley, the oak leaves...