LOPS and Words Gets Wordy

May 29th Thursday

Sometimes things don't go as planned.  That I didn't leave when I thought I would is normal for me.  Part of why I didn't leave is because I was enjoying listening to the birds, hearing the occasional fish jump, and just watching the river go by.  I may have seen a bald eagle being chased by some other, smaller birds.  It was far enough away that I can't be sure what it was.  The bird had a dark body with a white head and tail.  Somehow it seemed too small to be an eagle.  There was also a great blue heron on the opposite shore.  Whatever the eagle looking bird was, it seemed smaller than the heron.  That said, distance was definitely a factor.

Good morning, world!

Bird, poor photo, Lens and Merlin apps lead me to believe it is a brown thrasher.

Great blue heron. 

Eventually I left for my hike.  My first stop was at the bathhouse where I planned to brush my teeth by an actual sink.  Apparently the power was out, so that didn't happen.  I left for a different pitstop that was not driven by power and was stopped behind the truck cleaning out the porta potties.  After he finished up I thought I would be on my way.  When I was almost to the parking lot I had walked to yesterday to check out, the road was closed.  There was a tree down.  Instead of walking from the campground I decided “message received,"  turned around, and headed for the parking lot at Dunfield Creek.  

Road closed.

The road the campground is on has a narrow part with a light at either end to allow only one car through at a time.  Had I not had so many other delays I might have been stuck.  There was a sign about proceeding slowly because the lights weren't working (no power), but they were.  The power was back on and I made my way to the Dunfield Creek Parking lot.  I had to laugh when I got there, the same truck was cleaning out the porta potties at that location too.  The driver and I smiled at each other in recognition.

Had the road not been closed, I would have started along a different trail.  Instead, the first part of the trail I did southbound a few weeks ago.  What I hadn't done is the part of the Appalachian Trail that goes alongside Sunfish Pond.  Once I got to the north end of the pond I did a loop to circle the pond before heading back the way I came.

Dunfield Creek 

From the south end of the pond.

Those rocks are the trail.

I Zoomed in a bunch to get this photo from across part of the pond.  It is near the northern end of the pond.

From near the northern end of the pond.

I found the rock that looked like a cave.  It seems to be a place someone has built a fire.  It is only three or four feet tall.

There is a backpackers camping area before getting to the pond.  I stopped there to use the privy and had a nice conversation with the ridgerunner there.  

Back at camp I was exhausted.  After doing nothing for a short time, I gathered my energy for a shower, dinner, and watching the river.  There was a beautiful sunset, deer on the opposite shore, and some jumping fish.  Once I was settled in the tent and it was dark, the splashing like last night started.  

☮

Currently listening to: Thriving With Anxiety, by David Rosmarin.

Thank you for being here and being part of my daily happy things. Stay safe!