Crossman Ridge

Our latest hike was on the Crossman Ridge trail… or at least somewhere near it.  We missed the trailhead and wandered around for a couple of hours on  some of the roads and 4 wheeler trails in the general area of the trail we intended to walk on.  Once we were pretty good and wet from the tall grasses that were heavy with morning dew, we bagged it with the intention of returning in the future, and went home.

But we didn’t leave before a run-in with an enraged Tympanuchus phasianellus, commonly known as the sharp tailed grouse.  It was protecting a little one from its nest and was so stirrred up by our close-by approach that it flew first at Karen… and then… at me!  With the fury of a Boeing 747 at take-off.  If Karen were not about to faint from the shock, she might have snapped a photo of the crazed bird flapping its wings around me wildly.  Naturally I kept my cool and tried to befriend the critter.  After it counted coup on me several times, it landed a little ahead along the trail and walked a few steps, then looked back at us to make sure we were continuing on, away from its little one.  That is apparently a defense to preserve their young.  When it finally got tired of this behavior it flew back to where its baby was still peeping to keep in touch.  Really weird.

I wasn’t scared at all, but I pretended to be so that Karen didn’t feel too embarrassed.  But I will say this:  a man could get impaled by one of those sharp tails this critter is named after.  Yikes!

So far we have only been attacked by a man-eating grouse.  No bear attacks worth mentioning to this point.