Harstine Island State Park is a large, forested state park that borders the Puget Sound. My wife and I ventured on one of the trails with the hope of finding the Puget Sound and potentially a fishing spot. The trail appeared to be much longer than anticipated to reach the water or we had simply walked down the wrong path. I have ventured down a number of these paths with a fishing rod in hand only to find no viable fishing spot along the route, but that is the definition of exploring, you will not know until you try.
There was a warning sign of a cougar sighting in the area at the trailhead. This was the first of many postings about cougars that we saw at future trailheads. Each warning sign generally has a picture of a cougar, the last time it was seen in the area, and defensive strategies if you ever encountered one. One would think that bear spray would be the easiest line of defense, but we haven't seen that referenced in the postings, probably because most hikers don't carry it. I haven't seen a wild cougar yet, and I don't think I will unless a cougar, a master stealth hunter, sees me first and wants to show his face. read more