Narragansett, near Bonnet Shores

April 21, 2008
I enter the woods across from an old church on South Ferry Road. I've got about half an hour. There is a barred dirt road near an historical cemetery marked Narragansett 10. I've walked in these woods several times so I know there is a path behind the cemetery that cuts though the woods and meets back up with the access road. I've followed it into the woods before but today I choose to go in the opposite direction.
This path takes me near the URI campus where construction is going on. I regret the choice. The noise is unpleasant but it's the smell of diesel fumes that bothers me most. I continue on and soon put distance between me and the clamor. I arrive back at the dirt access road where it ends. There is a newly paved road that connects URI with an industrial park. I cross and continue into the woods.
A small group of crows seem startled by my sudden appearance and fly off. They are huge. I wonder if they really were concerned about the arrival of a clumsy, earth-bound primate, or if I simply coincided with their need to be someplace else. I don't claim to know much about crow behavior.
Continuing on I get closer to Bonnet Shores. The trail swoops to the East and meets up with URI again, but I don't follow it that far. I'm running short of time so I turn around.
I began walking in these woods back in February, and have yet to see it during the growing season. Canada Mayflower sprouts everywhere, and princess pines poking through the leaf litter. A shrub I can't identify has started to put leaves out as well. Green is returning and that makes me feel good.
I pause at a point where high school kids apparently gather. There is debris and what looks like an improvised fire pit. Not a good idea. There is a lot of fuel on the ground. A careless fire and a dry August could spell disaster.
I take the dirt access road back to South Ferry rather than walk close to the construction again. I cross and walk behind the old church. There is a path there that takes me past another cemetery, numbered 11. There I see a young college student, a man. He is standing inside the cemetery, behind a rock wall, with his shirt off. I assume he is resting after exercise or getting some sun.
He takes no notice of me as I walk closer. Soon I realize ... he is not alone. I cannot see anyone, but I deduce there is a young woman, behind the stone wall and in a position I cannot imagine. I can hear her. I turn my head away in discretion, but I stick to my path which comes within six feet of them. Soon I am back at work and my hike is done.
My lunchtime goal is to get away for a brief moment, but that is a tall order. The woods I walk aren't very remote or dense enough to offer a sense of true solitude. Signs of Man's Encroachment come in many forms. Today I discover a new one.