On the C&O Canal towpath once around Great Falls, I encountered a bunch of geese, with goslings. One or more started to hiss as I got closer. I was wearing thin running shorts, socks, and shoes, and I really did not want to take on an enraged goose. I also did not care to take a detour through brush I knew to be full of poison ivy, so I turned around, I suppose a couple of miles earlier than I had meant to.

One of the friends I encountered turning back had been bitten by a goose, and said that it was as if somebody had grabbed his flesh with pliers. He thought I had been wise to turn around.