Great Swamp, South Kingstown

Saturday, May 16

My son's Boy Scout Troop decided to take an easy, flat hike for the newer scouts. I did this same hike with my brother-and-sister-in-law, but this time we didn't take the wrong turn and actually made it to the water feature. Good thing, too. The water totally makes this hike.

The gang included the Scoutmaster, a parent, four scouts, and myself. Part of the requirements for the first couple ranks is to be able to identify plants and animal signs, so I got the opportunity to do my walking lecture. There were the regular features: oaks, pines, and maples, but I got the chance to identify some slightly less common or more overlooked species. Star flower, witch hazel, skunk cabbage. Stuff like that.

For wildlife signs, we saw lots of poop. Unlike the cub scouts, these scouts seemed more appalled by this and jerked away out of fear of being bitten by it. Speaking of being bitten, we also saw a 30ish inch long black snake. Either a rat snake or a northern black racer. It showed no fear of us, and when it became bored, slithered back into the swamp. We also became very familiar with deer ticks. One scout had 14 pulled off of him by hikes end. I found five or six on myself. Next time I'll bring some deet.

Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. It's not too tough of a trek, but one scout was unaccustomed with hiking and grew very tired. In the end, he did well. I hope to see him at the next hike.