Heading Towards Waptus Lake, page 14

Shovel Creek drainage from Waptus Ridge

It took two hours to get down to the valley floor, as Mika and I stopped frequently to take pictures of the Shovel Creek area across the valley. My original itinerary called for a bush-whacking trip up to Shovel Lake, but obviously that plan had been abandoned … as had the trip to Summit Chief Lake and Dutch Miller gap. As it turned out, this actually wasn't as big a disappointment as I initially felt it to be.

Once down to the valley floor, we surveyed the campsites on both sides of the Waptus River.  Adequate, but pretty horsey. And the flies and mosquitoes seem to just be waiting for tender morsels such as ourselves to enter their den. I pictured them buzzing about, gathering napkins and forks for the upcoming feast.

I took off my pack and gingerly hobbled down under the bridge to fill my water bottle and soak my feet. I had a dandy blister on the bottom of my right heel that I hadn't even been aware of. See – I told you that numbness would be good for something!

My little peninsula camp beakons from below!

The foot soak felt good, but the bugs had found me. I went back to where I dropped my pack and decided I really didn't want to spend two or three days in a buggy little flat spot right off the trail. By golly, it was the little peninsula camp or bust!

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