I hadn’t hiked with the Meetup group I joined for that very purpose in a long time. I figured that time of day, which was actually night, and a new area that was completely paved, may be just the thing to put a little more variety in my week.
At first, I didn’t think I was in the right place since GPS had led me to a makeshift parking place on the side of the road. Just as I was texting the organizer, another person parked beside me with a similar bewildered look on his face. I rolled down the window and confirmed that he was there for the night hike with the Meetup group as well.
He was a recent transplant from the north, still adjusting to life here. I expected the usual complaints about the heat and humidity, but he added a bonus track: chiggers. Somehow, I’ve managed to avoid them all this time, but he took virtually no time in attracting them.
I didn’t mean to laugh, but at least I shared with him a home remedy–paint clear nail polish over the affected area, which was later confirmed by another woman who joined us in the middle of the conversation.
Proving once again that karma was in full effect, I felt something crawling on my calf and when I swatted it, I discovered this beetle:I made sure not to tease or laugh at that guy again!
Overall, this hike proved to be very animal-rich in terms of sightings. Including that beetle, we saw a deer while still waiting for people to arrive; heard an armadillo, which some brave people entered the brush to confirm; and of course, the typical birds flying over before the sun went down.
By far the strangest animal was the patent lawyer. He seemed to have absolutely no sense of irony while he praised the use of plastic for saving lives. His solution for plastic-trashing Earth’s environment was harvesting the resources from other planets such as Mars or Mercury. So to recap, this fool, while taking a night hike in a park, allegedly to enjoy nature, thought that plastic was one of the best things the human race had come up with and that we should harvest the resources off other planets to the point of their complete destruction, which he didn’t think would have any impact on us because they were “so far away.”
After that line of reasoning, he then argued against humans being the most destructive species on the planet. Again, the man seemed immune to irony.
We stopped at a historical point along the trail. Our organizer told us that the now defunct train tracks that we saw above had been the site of a terrible wreck where many granite rocks were being transported. I posed with the most accessible one.
Part of the reason I wanted to hike with this group was to get away from work, which was exactly why I spent half my time talking to a life insurance agent. I felt she attempted to recruit me. I’m not sure how prevalent that sort of thing is in other industries, but ever since I became an agent, I’ve been subjected to recruiting efforts by others who somehow got my phone number. That started just after I passed my licensing exam.
At any rate, I told her about joining a friend, who was also a life insurance agent, as my Plan B if my current situation didn’t work out. Nonetheless she told me about all the different products her company offered. She made her income with just two state licenses because of the variety of products. Just another variation of a theme as far as I’m concerned.
Despite being an easy stroll in the park, the hike was more than what my permanently injured ankle had bargained for. I’ve babied it less in the past months, which has made it stronger, but still not 100%. All that means is that I’ll have to watch out for other 4-mile easy hikes.