Today was a chilly but a beautiful day, and I very much looked forward to going for a hike. One of my favorite hiking trails in the area is at Congaree Creek Heritage Preserve. One of the great things about it is that there are very few visitors, so I can sing as loudly and obnoxiously as I like.
This time, however, there was another visitor. She was an attractive young woman all in purple. The trail at Congaree Creek consists of a short connector trail that leads you to a longer (2.5 mile, more or less) loop. She was ahead of me since I had to hook to the iPod and zip my jacket. I wasn't going to follow her anyway (not being all THAT creepy) but was pleased when she went counter-clockwise, thus allowing me to go clockwise without bothering her.
I made it more than halfway around the loop before encountering her again. Congaree Creek has these rather Paul Bunyanesque benches every now and again on the trail, and she (or anyway somebody female wearing purple) was sitting on one facing a duckweed-covered pond. Duckweed, they tell me, is the smallest flower in the world; however, most people seem to think it looks more like pond scum. I can't say that I'm a fan. It struck me as a strange place to take a rest, but maybe she's a huge fan of ducks. (I've been there a lot and seen a lot of duckweed, but if I've seen any ducks I don't remember it.) It's a great place to see great blue herons, but I think you're more likely to do so by keeping moving. Anyway, I appreciate that none of this is earth-shattering. It just struck me as weird. Maybe she was just tired; maybe she finds duckweed an aid to meditation. Regardless, it was a lovely hike. I hope she enjoyed her day as much.
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