Where now?
I checked the map.
Flippin ‘eck! Look at all these footpaths and bridleways!
It was early on a Sunday morning. I had no plans, no time limits. Free to roam, I indulged in a little randomness. My only loose plan was to stay off the roads.
Mount Rainier Hiking Map Photo Gallery
I get excited by footpaths, giggle when I see a wood coming up, chuckle at the sight of a faint, flattened trail of grass weaving through a field or meadow. I don’t know why, but it makes me happy. The countryside has always done that; even as a kid I remember the same feeling and it stays with me.
I checked the map once in a while and after thirty minutes realised that I could navigate a route around my village. I thought of the article on circumnavigating Snowdon and thought.