Der fröhliche Wanderer...The Happy Wanderer

I missed walking yesterday due to intense focus on a work project that lasted all day. Today I awakened early and decided to get out for hike before the heat set in and work again claimed me. 

It was a beautiful morning and I walked south to a spot that overlooks the Columbia River, the city of The Dalles, dam and bridge and beyond Mt. Hood and further south and east in central Oregon, Mt. Jefferson. 

Along the way I sang The Happy Wanderer song, in part, to alert any bear or cougar in the area to my presence. It was a wonderful walk with stupendous views of the Cascade volcanos, from the barely visible Three Sisters facing south, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood, the tip of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, the tip of Mt. Rainier and the Goat Rocks.

I was immersed in thought and walking quietly on the return journey. As I rounded a bend, I saw movement about 50 feet away. I assumed it was a deer. When I saw the long curved tail, I realized the shape was wrong. A cougar had stepped from the hillside onto the path in front of me. What a surprise for us both! After we peered at each other for a moment, the cougar darted down the hill and into the brush. 

I was just  on the edge of a wooded area that I had to pass through to get to my car. So I raised my walking sticks over my head to appear larger; and clacking them together I hissed, growled and snarled my way through the dense growth to more open ground and my car. Perhaps, I was singing the animal version of The Happy Wanderer?

In nearly 15 years of living here, first on weekends and now full time, this is the first time I have actually seen a cougar in this area, although I have sometimes see their tracks. 

In the extra is a view of Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood from the cliff overlooking the Columbia River into Oregon. It was an beautiful and exciting morning!