Major support for Oregon Field Guide is provided by... [ ♪♪♪ ] WOMAN: Come on!

There he is, there he is, there he is.

[ exclaims ] Get him out of there, buddy!

Good boy!

[ laughing ] WOMAN: Whoo, high five!

Yeah!

JAHN: Next, on Oregon Field Guide: It can seem like everyone camps in Oregon, but what if you don't?

You're going to put air into it.

From my body?

You got it.

What would you need to get started?

Then, explore the fantastic fungi of the Northwest with author Merlin Sheldrake.

But we start with an expedition into the Oregon outback.

I'm standing in what could be the quietest place in all of Oregon.

This is a story about how we found it and why we went looking for it in the first place.

It's also a story about the nature of sound and how we experience it in wild places like this and in our modern lives.

[ whistle blowing, drums beating ] [ people chattering indistinctly ] There are nearly 8 billion people on this planet... [ both scream excitedly ] ...and we make a lot of noise.

But what if we could escape it?

What if we could find the quietest place in all of Oregon?

That's where photographer Brandon Swanson and I are headed: out of Portland, over the Cascades, and into the high desert in search of a place that right now exists only as a data point.

So we're looking for the quietest place in Oregon.

Our journey started here, back at OPB headquarters.

We were given three GPS points that had been published in something called The Noise Control Engineering Journal.

The points indicated three candidates for the quietest place in Oregon based on airplane flight paths, proximity to population, roads, and industry, but...

These dots are just what an algorithm spit out.

These three places all meet the criteria, but no one's actually checked it out.

Okay.

We traveled to two of the three locations for other stories, one on Hart Mountain, another in the Owyhee Canyonlands, and they were quiet.

But we focused our attention on one spot in extreme southeast Oregon that we'd never been to.

This one is out there.

I mean, if this is Fields, which is near the Alvord Desert, this is probably a couple hours of dirt roads to get there.

I think that what it looks like would be pretty straightforward.

I've got a handle on that, but for recording sound at the quietest place, how do you capture an absence of something?

To answer that question, we invited an expert.

Here we go.

Nick McMahan is a natural sound recording artist.

We joined him at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where he invited us to experience the world as he hears it.

Nick gives a lot of thought to where and how he places his microphones.

It helps justify his love of wandering.

[ birds cawing, twittering ] [ wind blowing softly ] Initially I came here two years ago, and it was fascinating sounds.

The birds like I'd never heard before.

And I think we're starting to hear them picking up again, which is exciting for me.

You can kind of hear it settling even, between the wind.

You can start hearing the communication between the animals, and just the silence, really, starts to feel like a part of you, too.

You kind of feel that settling.

It's just really beautiful.

[ frogs croaking ] And this is the chorus of wildlife that Nick recorded after leaving his microphones out all night.

[ birds chirping ] [ insects chittering ] [ frogs croaking ] [ elk moaning ] Yeah, I think it sounds...

I think it sounds awesome.

At this point, we were feeling the groove in our two-car desert caravan.

We had time to ponder the scenery on our way to find that waypoint that we hoped would be the quietest place in Oregon, which frankly wasn't where we thought it would be when we first imagined the story.

I would've thought the quietest spot would've been, like, in the woods with a canopy of trees muffling the sound.

And I would've thought it would've been in the middle of some slot canyon or something.

But where we were headed was not that.

Southeast Oregon is wide-open country, and after a certain point, it was just our two cars, sagebrush, and long gravel roads.

JAHN: Just like I-5, buddy.

Until we entered a zone where even our GPS got a little weird.

It's finicky.

[ Jahn chuckles ] So, I didn't think we'd hit this kind of problem so early, but GPS is telling us go down here.

There's no trespassing.

Yeah.

Instead of giving us the road route, now it's trying to head us directly to it... Cross-country.

I know that there's a good gravel road this way.

I'm going to go with my gut here because I think we're going to keep running into this issue where it's going to keep trying to route us onto roads like this, which are not going to take us there.

McMAHAN: Yeah.

[ chuckles ] This is going to be more of an adventure, actually, than I originally anticipated.

Harney County traffic slowed our progress even further.

SWANSON: Come on, sirloin.

[ clicks tongue ] Giddy-up!

Miles and miles and hours later, deep into a county that has less than one person per square mile, even the gravel roads vanished.

Wow, this is a blank spot on a map, for sure.

But that GPS location and our guide to the quietest place in Oregon was pointing us to somewhere beyond even this faint two-track.

Well, I think we're going to park it and hoof it.

What do you say?

You up for it?

Yeah, let's do it.

Okay.

[ engine stops ] My read of this thing...

I think we're going to be going out a couple football fields that way.

After all day in the car, I'm actually getting kind of excited.

McMAHAN: Yeah.

[ chuckles ] It feels good to walk.

But how would we know if this was the quietest place in Oregon?

How would we measure it?

Well, we made a few stops with a decibel meter before we got here to get a reference.

[ traffic rumbling ] First was a street in Bend.

We're getting about 74, 80 when it's loud.

Not too bad out here.

Then to a surprisingly noisy downtown Burns.

[ truck engine rumbling loudly ] Ninety-three.

There we go.

That was a good one.

It's interesting, because human conversation is kind of known to be around 60 decibels.

Here, that car that just went by was at like 73, which means we have to talk a little louder to be able to hear each other, right?

Decibels are a measure of sound volume.

It's a crude measurement that's affected by how close you are to a noise.

But the numbers you see on the decibel reader are logarithmic.

Each decibel increase equals a ten-fold increase in the intensity of the sound.

Zero decibels is the quietest audible sound.

So 10 decibels is 10 times louder than zero.

And 20 decibels is 100 times louder than zero.

But decibels don't say anything about the quality of sound.

[ trilling softly ] And efforts to protect both natural landscapes where the sounds of wildlife dominate and naturally quiet places are part of a new national movement.

It's a movement that piggybacks on longstanding efforts to protect aspects of the natural world that we're losing.

Think about early conservation efforts and you think wildlife refuges, national parks, wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, and even dark-sky sanctuaries.

Nick belongs to a group called Quiet Parks International that's taking the next step.

Quiet Parks International, you know, I think it's almost like meeting a human need as we're losing quiet spaces.

It meets the need of people to have that awareness of lessening and of being in quiet when they have an opportunity to.

And it's surprisingly few and far between.

But what is it about this spot on our GPS that is so special it's worth a nine-hour drive for us to be here?

This is it.

Oh, nice!

Right here.

[ laughs ] Sweet.

Hey... this is the quietest spot in Oregon.

At least, that's what the remote data said.

[ whispering ] When the wind stops, you have to whisper, it feels like.

But a breeze was picking up and distant jets did occasionally rumble overhead.

Only a few, scattered across many hours, but still.

We knew that the real test would come at night, after the sun set, when the breeze died down and the birds fell silent.

So we settled into camp and Nick got ready to record.

McMAHAN: Real, uh, silence through a microphone is tricky, because it's the lack of sound.

And that's also part of the challenge and the excitement of it, is trying to figure that out, problem-solving for the environment.

This whole place is very subtle.

The lack of lights on the horizon, that's really hard to find anywhere.

We're seeing for like 40 miles, we're at 5,000 feet, and you can't see a single light.

As night fell, the air stilled.

And this is the silence that Nick recorded.

[ low humming ] [ birds tweet in distance ] But it didn't last long.

Just before dawn, the wildlife began to wake up.

[ coyotes howling, birds chirping ] Soon after, the silence was shattered by a cacophony of birds.

[ birds tweeting on recording ] Oh, wow.

But as the sun rose, all life again went silent.

Jets were nowhere to be seen, and we were left with hours of this.

[ wind blowing softly ] [ insects buzzing softly ] [ bird trills ] McMAHAN: It's almost like a sensory-deprivation type of quiet.

The birds are keeping us from losing our minds, because you don't really find places like this anywhere.

I was, like-- I think this is probably the quietest place I've been.

JAHN: It's interesting, right?

We're almost talking in whispered tones.

I feel like I'm talking too loud, actually.

When we set out to do this story, I knew it wasn't total silence I was hoping for so much as peace.

Natural peace, uninterrupted by jets or cars or leaf blowers.

A peace exactly like this, however you measure it.

[ wind rumbling softly ] [ ♪♪♪ ] I really like this next story because it gets at what Oregon Field Guide is all about, which is the idea that the outdoors should be for everyone, regardless of skills or experience.

But what if there's a barrier, something in the way?

What if, say, no one ever taught you how to camp?

Well, producer Noah Thomas knows how you feel and he came back with this story called "Camping 101."

THOMAS: One thing I noticed about living in Oregon for nine years is that everyone here just sort of knows how to camp.

Almost like camping's a thing that's hardwired into people's brains.

I grew up in Chicago, and camping wasn't really a thing that my friends and family were into.

But I love being outdoors.

So together with a group of other beginner campers, I decided to get a first-hand lesson from a professional.

So, Lestarya, what are we getting into this weekend?

Yeah, we've got a great weekend planned.

So we've got folks here who, it's their very first time camping.

And then we have some folks who are building up their confidence with camping and being in the outdoors.

Hey, I'm here.

Thanks for coming out.

MAN: What's up?

How you doing?

What I'm looking forward to learning is more about tips and tools to be comfortable with camping.

So maybe learning about how to set up my tent or my sleeping situation would be really cool.

Usually I'm behind the camera, so this is a little-- This is outside of my comfort zone, but I'm very excited to be with such a large group and just, you know, learn from the pros here.

[ chuckles ] So I'm looking forward to it.

I wanted to come here because I just wanted a reset.

I wanted to do something different, and so intentionally camping for me, it's something different.

Sleeping bag.

I didn't grow up camping, so I know what it's like to be someone who's curious to get into camping but not necessarily having the know-how to do so.

This is going to be yours, too.

So there's really just a few things that you need to make camping feel comfortable.

Lestarya covers the essentials, like a tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, an inflatable pillow... Or bring a pillow from home.

And then for food, two-burner camp stove.

That way I can make coffee on one side but then be cooking on the other.

And it's really nice to have a lantern of some kind.

I didn't consider myself outdoorsy, and then over the years, I would pick up new things over time and just build up my confidence.

And now, definitely a full-blown camper and just getting a lot of people into it.

So, what kind of gear do you actually need to go camping?

THOMAS: This is part of my issue, Lestarya, There are all these tents.

Where do I start?

So personally, I enjoy pulling up to a campsite and being able to set up my tent right there.

So I'm looking for something that is much more roomy and I'm less worried about weight.

Next on the list: a sleeping pad.

There are differences in how they feel.

And so that's why I definitely recommend trying it out.

I took Lestarya's advice.

Oh, yeah, this is going to work out great.

Then we moved on to sleeping bags.

A lot of these are mummy style, right?

So that when you're in, you just feel a little like you're in a cocoon.

You're just all bundled up.

Then they also have sleeping bags that are more, like, rectangular shaped.

After covering a few other things like inflatable pillows and portable stoves, we were ready to get outdoors.

You ready to set up your tents?

Yay!

[ car beeps ] This is my first time putting a tent together.

But it can't be IKEA-level difficult, right?

No, it's not.

There we go.

All right, I'm ready.

[ ♪♪♪ ] Yeah, so a footprint is what goes on the bottom of the tent.

Okay.

And then we're going to make sure we look where the front of the door is.

Wait, this is how tall it's going to be?

We're about to party in this thing!

Yo, this is actually easier than I thought.

I cannot believe I'm doing this.

MOLLOY: There you go.

Okay, so if you can...

I feel like it's not sturdy, you know what I mean?

Oh, this is what's going on.

Why am I tripping?

All right, yes.

There you go.

Yay!

Let's go!

[ laughs ] We got it!

[ laughing ] So where do we-- where do I go-- Like, where's the door at?

MOLLOY: So it's going to be right there.

Home sweet home.

[ blowing ] Boom.

Ha-ha!

How are we going--?

You're going to blow this up.

I'm going to bl-- Yep, you're going to put air into it.

From my body?

You got it.

[ blowing ] This is where I'm gonna sleep at.

Beautiful.

I love this.

I like it.

For a lot of people, camping's all about good times and nostalgia.

For Wilson, it's a bit more complicated.

For me, being here right now, intentionally being here, it solidifies a lot of things in my life, and I feel like I have to let go of a lot of trauma that I associated with the word "camp."

I lived in a refugee camp as a young-- you know, as a youth, as a child, and so the word "camp" does not necessarily connect with "peace," "nature."

This is, like, amazing.

MOLLOY: How is that?

This is nice.

I had to start connecting time outside with my own health and well-being, and that's something that many people of color can relate to.

We got the firewood!

[ chuckles ] You got it.

You got it.

Look at that!

[ campers clamoring, cheering ] [ all cheering, applauding ] MOLLOY: Come on, Wilson.

[ all cheering ] I was sweet with it!

I was sweet!

How many do y'all want?

Lighting a campfire isn't as simple as striking a match, but it's easy if you know the steps.

First, you need tinder... WOMAN: Okay.

...which then lights the kindling.

Last, throw on the firewood.

Make sure it's local so you don't spread invasive insects or disease.

Cooking's a big part of camping, and Lestarya came prepared.

We're doing hot pot for dinner.

[ indistinct chattering ] I'm getting used to this.

All right, then I'm going to put that back in there.

[ all laugh, chattering ] Do you want to do the honors and get some first?

[ all speaking indistinctly ] MOLLOY: Yeah, yeah, just go ahead.

So how has your camping experience this weekend compared to what you thought camping was based on, like, what you've seen in the past?

It's really chill.

Like, yeah.

I don't have to go sit in front of a computer, do no work.

Mm-hmm.

Although we're just all kind of getting to know each other and things like that, we're very unified in the thought and the belief that we're here to enjoy this experience.

[ people chattering, laughing ] The reality of camping, after everyone was done eating, you still have to clean.

All right, I'm on drying duty.

Who's ready for s'mores?

All right, so... if you want to go ahead and open this up, and you can take a marshmallow.

I wanna get the marshmallows experience.

WOMAN: --as he burns his... [ all chuckle ] I'm ready for the chocolate.

What do you do?

How do you do it, how do you do it?

BRYANT: Why you over here trying to make gourmet s'mores with two?

[ laughs ] Yo, this is fire.

Yeah, it's fire.

MOLLOY: Being out here really just removes the distractions, and so it provides this space of just being present.

That's that deepest part of camping and what it can do for folks.

The last camping essential that you definitely don't want to forget is a light.

[ birds chirping ] How was your first night of camping?

It was better than I expected.

It was good, just waking up, like, hearing the sound of nature, the birds in the morning.

I definitely think I'm going to do this again.

Definitely.

[ ♪♪♪ ] Oh.

Bye.

Bye.

Thank you for having me.

Thank you so much for coming.

MOLLOY: We are doing something really special.

When people have worked up the courage to go on their first camping trip and leave saying, "You know what, I'm going to do this again."

Oh!

Yes.

This was amazing.

MOLLOY: That is magic.

The cool thing about camping is that it only takes one trip to get hooked.

It's the perfect opportunity to learn more about yourself and especially the people you're with, whether you're strengthening old friendships or making new ones.

[ ♪♪♪ ] We have a sister program at OPB called Superabundant.

Now, it's mostly about food, but like Oregon Field Guide, they share a love of nature's bounty.

And they found this story about a man obsessed with one of the greatest bounties that we have here in the Northwest: mushrooms.

[ ♪♪♪ ] MAN: Soils are deep and complex places.

Like when I walk around on the soil, I like to think of it like I'm walking on the surface of an ocean of land and that that ocean of land stretches down deep, deep underground and is full of life.

Coniferous forests we see here in Oregon, those have particular types of fungal relationship and bacterial relationship, and they in turn shape the soil that they grow in and the fungi shape the conditions for the plant.

So it's a kind of feedback system where you have chemical weather systems, you have microbial populations, you have plant activity, and all are conditioned by the other.

And so, yeah, what we see is just the visible part of a much vaster and more complex system.

My name's Merlin Sheldrake, I'm a biologist and a writer, and I think a lot about fungi and in particular, the fungi that form relationships with plants.

It really helps, I think, to see things a little bit more from their perspective.

But a lot of time, you just got to let your eyes get used to the forest and you see one or two and you start to see more, but it helps to come down, I find, also just to enjoy them.

Plants tend to produce their own food by eating sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce sugars and fats.

Animals tend to go around in the world and find food and put it inside their bodies.

But fungi do things differently, they put their bodies inside their food, and they do this by growing branching, fusing networks of tubular cells called mycelial networks.

From a fungus' point of view, it's like, well, I've got all these plant partners, it's in my interest as a fungus to make sure that I have these multiple plant partners in case one of them dies, in case one of them gets eaten, one of them is squashed by a falling tree.

They have to rise to the challenge of living.

They have to explore a changing environment.

They have to adapt to these changes in their environment.

They have to make decisions, in their way, between different courses of action.

And so fungi have evolved all sorts of ways to do that, to solve problems.

We forget how hard it is to digest wood.

Lignin is one of the parts of wood, and lignin is really hard to digest, 'cause it's an irregular structure, and so normal enzymes just can't handle it.

Some fungi have a certain types of enzyme which can break down the lignin in wood and unlocks all the carbon in this wood and allows it to become available for other organisms.

So they play really vital roles, helping nutrients to journey through their earthly cycles.

I love thinking about the life of a tree after it's fallen.

You have this tree when it's alive, and then you have this body of the tree when it's fallen, and it becomes the site of, like, a planet for so many different organisms continuing their lives, and in some ways it's more living than it ever was.

It's a world of communication outside.

We live in a communicating world.

Some of that communication is visible and apparent to us, and most of it passes under our feet, over our heads.

[ ♪♪♪ ] You can now find many Oregon Field Guide stories and episodes online.

And to be part of the conversation about the outdoors and environment here in the Northwest, join us on Facebook.

[ birds chirping ] Major support for Oregon Field Guide is provided by... Additional support provided by... and the following... and contributing members of OPB and viewers like you.