Day 175: The internal debate was on. I'd aired up my bicycle tires thinking I might take a local ride, but I really wanted to be out in the woods, not pedalling along to the sound of traffic whishing past. That being the case, maybe I could just ride a short ways, stow the bike in the woods and hike closer to home. I can't get the bike in/on the car, so that was out of the question. So if I was going to take a hike, where did I want to go that I could be fairly certain I wouldn't run into any people? Pack Forest was out. It's become a zoo since covid moved in, likewise the obvious trails in Nisqually-Mashel State Park. Still, if I left early enough, I might be able to make it down to the river and back before the hordes showed up, so that went on the list as Plan A. I had a couple of Plan Bs in the back of my mind for "just in case," but when I arrived at the river-walk trailhead, there were no other cars in sight. About half a mile in, I spotted a bunny-trail I hadn't explored before, more obvious now because the brush hasn't leafed out, so I followed it to a dead end at a landing about half a mile in. I found some interesting little wetlands and heard frogs, although I didn't see them. I returned to the main trail and went another half mile to an old road which has tempted me every time I've hiked down to the river, so again, I took a half-mile detour to yet another landing and a dead end at the bluff. With those two side-trips behind me, I then decided it was time to head to the actual goal: the confluence of the grand Nisqually River with quiet little Ohop Creek. I thought I might get lucky and spot some Kinglets, but although their companion chickadees followed me along as if they knew that I am a friend to their kind, I neither saw nor heard a single Golden-Crowned or Ruby-Crowned all day. Kinglets aside, I was not disappointed by the lack of anything particularly noteworthy on my walk. It was enough to be out and about, Plan A accomplished.
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