The canopy of trees towering above our heads as we walked was beautiful. The guide said it was a competition about which trees could grow tall enough quickly enough to get to the sunlight. Other trees were useful for capturing the nitrogen and enriching the topsoil, but they seldom made it to the canopy. The banana slug inhabits the forest. We saw several. This one was about seven inches long. It is supposed to be good luck to kiss a banana slug, but I decided to take my chances and pass up the opportunity. The growth on the tree is called Bear’s Bread. The guide told us that the bears eat it before going into hibernation because it causes constipation, which is useful if you are trying to hibernate.