What do the mountains behind Ferndale look like right now? Thick, impenetrable, thorny, brush hell holes? Well, thats what they look like to a human being who is trying walk through them in the summertime. Its absolutely remarkable how persistent and vibrant these forest types are. Diverse in every way: from species composition to forest structure, these forests have it all. Its just not very fun to walk through.
Nooks and Crannies 
I remember as kids, we would hack our way though brush to build tree forts. The wild grape, every manner of oak, madrone, manzanita and whatnot would be intermingled into one multi-acre thicket. We could build tunnels through it that would go for days. The area was canyonous just like that and a joy to play in…Later, while working for the Forest Service, I grew to hate it. Especially the tanoak dust on a hot summer day.
Included in the photo is Wild Cucumber, probably Marah oreganus (kinda similar to Wild Grape). I read/heard somewhere this perennial rivals Sequoias, Bristlecone Pines, Aspens(?) as the oldest living plants.
Thats interesting. I didnt even notice it, but I was seriously hating my life while I was out there. I was hiking at fern canyon a while ago though and I always see it up there (wild cucumber). This type of vegetation and topography is pretty much the same as fern canyon.