Saturday, July 02, 2005

five hours today

I planned to go for four hours, but I went off down a trail I’d never taken before, and I had to keep following it to see where it went. I never reached the end, though. I had to turn around at 2.5 hours because I’d only brought enough water for a four-hour hike, and even going for five hours was pushing it.

I saw a couple of deer, both of them bounding away prettily. And I saw two turkeys (both female, I think) with a brood of poults (juvenile turkeys). They were right at the side of the trail, very close. We saw each other at the same time – I froze to stare, and the juveniles flew up into the trees in a panic. The adults went running off into the woods. I think they must not have been too scared, or else they would have flown away too. Or maybe they were trying to distract me from their brood.

I also saw a frog (in water) and a toad (in the woods).

It was a quiet day, very pleasant. I passed an older guy poling along, with his two dogs (both unleashed, one of which snarled and jumped at me… drrr!). And I passed two older guys mountain biking… apparently they were lost, but I couldn’t tell them which way to go.

And, I got a tick. Easily removed.

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