Elevation Gain: Approximately 10 ft.
Time: 10:50 am - 1:10 pm
Weather: Sunny, scattered clouds, mid-70s.
Is it possible to have a busier summer than school year? Lately, I have felt this to be the case. As a result, this Sunday is my only free day, until next Sunday. Then a week from Tuesday, I leave on a 14-day backpacking trip. I just wanted to stay in bed this morning. Adding to this lethargy was the smooth move I pulled earlier this week when I rolled my right ankle pretty hard at summer volleyball practice. So when I woke up to a brilliantly beautiful morning, looking out on the Puget Sound, I tried to get motivated to pick a hike. I wanted to hike a big distance, but I have not done laundry in too long and I haven't been home for days, so I ruled out a long hike. I also did not want to travel far, and I have just about exhausted my nearby hikes. I did find a 4 mile hike only 20 minutes away in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. So here is how it went.
I get to the parking lot, and I could tell right away, this was not the same crowd I usually would see. I was gearing up, putting my pack together, getting my poles out, and putting my gaiters on, when I stopped. I was going to hike 4 miles on a really nice boardwalk with moms with strollers and families with 3 generations (grand parents, parents, and kids). I pulled my gaiters off and left my poles in the car.
I immediately got all judgmental and pretentious about the place I was visiting. But all of this changed quickly, when I took a spur off the main boardwalk trail into the riparian forest next to the Nisqually delta. The panel said that this particular forest has the largest concentration of song birds in the western United States. Standing there in the mid-morning I would believe it. Even though the roar of traffic from I-5 was still audible, the birds were singing their hearts out. As I continued back to the trail, I began to notice all the fancy binoculars and tripods other people were totting around. I am not a birder myself, but now I know where to find the birders and the birds.
The hike continues out into the open delta on an earthen dike, then a huge boardwalk 10~15 feet above the delta bed and 8~10 feet across stretches out a good 1.5~2 miles out towards the Puget Sound. I was there at low tide, so I got to see the delta and all the birds flying around playing in the pools. When the tide is up, most of the delta is flooded with salt water from the Sound.
When I got out to the observation platform, I had it to myself for about 5 minutes. Mount Rainier was shinning to the south east, and the weather was absolutely perfect. I went back to a bench on the boardwalk and ate lunch in the sun. On the way back, when I got to the forested area, I saw a raccoon. I watched him climb trees and scourge picnic table areas for dropped treats.
Orchid: The songbirds in the forest.
Onion: Not having binoculars.
Picture:
Google Map
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