Waptus Lake Layover, page 17

North from our peninsula camp

Today was another beautiful, hot day. I bathed again, this time washing my hair. Then I washed both pairs of my hiking socks, my nylon windbreaker and my wind-pants. Deciding to make a thorough job of it, I rinsed up my cotton-shirt again. (I slept in it last night and it hadn’t smelt all that good.) Mica roused herself from her spot in the shade to observe all the silly human stuff, no doubt feeling superior where grooming habits are concerned.  (Like butt-licking is really sterile and clean.)

I spent the hottest hours of the day in the tent, away from the flies.  (The mosquitoes aren’t too bad, but the flies are obnoxious.)  Mica was inside for a while, but got too hot and fidgeted so I finally unzipped the door to let her out. She wandered around until she found a spot that had both shade and a little breeze.

With both of us happily situated, we passed what can only be called an idyllic afternoon.  The nightmare of the previous days seemed to have never happened, except for the occasional short pain in the night.

South from our Waptus Lake peninsula camp, with Dutch Miller Gap in the distance

From our camp you have an excellent view of Dutch Miller Gap to the south. It is bordered by Summit Chief Mountain to the left (east) and Bears Breast Mountain to the west (right). The old Cascade Crest trail used to go up through Dutch Miller, until it was recently rerouted up Waptus Ridge to Spectacle Lake. (Just a historical note to those who give a rat's ass. I myself am completely fascinated by minutea like that.)

Later in the afternoon I plundered my food sack again and came up with a tin of creamed chicken, which I ate right out of the can.  For dessert, I had freeze-dried ice cream. This veritable feast was washed down with the nectar of the wilderness – Cherry Kool-Aid.  (‘It don’t get any better than this,’ Mica snorted derisively.)

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