I watch my shot glide to the basket on hole 18. It’s a short hole to finish the course, but treacherous. The basket is perched in front of a large boulder, and anywhere off a straight line to the basket is a precipitous drop-off.
My shot lands a little short, to the left, but on the flattest line down to the basket. It’s my typical safe shot. I hop off the tee pad and collect my things. As I begin walking down the path, a little tuft of fuzz catches my eye. It’s quite still overall, but the bits of fur at the end wiggle in the light breeze.
They’re mostly black, with a clear white stripe down the middle.
Alongside tidal waves and quicksand, skunks were one of those things I was always led to believe would be a huge factor in my life. I’d be avoiding skunk spray left and right, hoping to avoid a tomato bath. It wasn’t until I started disc golfing that I actually saw skunks in the wild.
Despite my years of training by various TV shows, this encounter gave me pause. The skunk was minding its own business, rooting around in the ground for bugs (or whatever skunks eat.) It was not really close to the path, but I have no idea what radius a skunk is prepared to be spooked in.
I stopped in my tracks, and took a step back. I stood there for longer than was warranted, wondering for at least a minute whether it was worth slowly moving my way past this skunk, or back-tracking to the previous hole and going down to another path to get it a wide berth. (In retrospect, I’m lucky this course had such an alternative route.)
Eventually, I did go back to hole 17 and make my way around. One benefit of this choice, besides the obvious one, is that I found someone’s disc that I was able to return to them. Luckily there’s nothing else to this story, but it felt notable. This course is in a nature preserve, so I frequently see deer, turkey, and large hares. None of these concern themselves with me. A skunk stands out as the only animal that could give me a rough time if it had a mind to.
I won’t be so hesitant the next time I’m facing a situation that would make my fiancee extremely upset with my decision.