Day 120: Going 'round and 'round on the Tahoma Woods boundary trail is rather monotonous, but it is preferable to walking on the road. However, it's possible to change up the route a bit by taking another short path to the river. This trail is maintained by the students and staff of Columbia Crest School for the most part, although occasional anonymous Parkies will help out by clearing away easily moveable storm debris. It is one of a very few access points to the Nisqually along SR 706 and is not widely known. This bridge crosses a small boggy area fairly close to the end of the trail. Frogs can be found here occasionally, and today marked my first sighting of larger wildlife.
I'd gone to the river and was just climbing back up a staircase of roots when I heard something crashing through the brush. I checked up short, and a good thing I did, or an enormous beaver would have run me down. I am tempted to say that it was the largest beaver I've seen, but my estimate of its size might have been affected by proximity. We stood for a few seconds no more than six feet apart, equally surprised and making eye contact. I fumbled for the camera but was not quick enough on the draw. Beaver slid down a six-foot bank and with a few noisy slaps of its broad tail, submerged in a cloudy pool and was lost to sight.
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