And then there is the strange life force of the Delphos, the way its hem pools on the ground like the spreading roots of a tree, and how the vertical pleating begins to look like bark.
They must scale the near-vertical base by climbing rocks and tree roots like ladders -- or take a longer switchback trail -- and then begin an arduous hike uphill, sliding on mud and grasping at alders and shrubs to pull themselves up.