Waptus River, page 23

Day 12, 4 PM
Wednesday, September 18, 1991
Waptus River

Waptus River/Spinola Creek trail intersection

I'm enjoying the afternoon as I sit in my camp just under Cone Mountain. We christened this ‘Double Dead Tree Camp’ because right next to my tent there is a large dead fir with a split trunk. It's a good landmark.

Coming down this route turned out to be a really good idea for two reasons. One: I know now for a fact that I would absolutely have died going up Spinola Creek.  Two: this is truly a totally different place in September than in the early season.

Waptus River

I was able to wade right out into the middle of the river to soak my head and swish my dusty tee-shirt around.  You can ford the river right next to my camp; it’s only knee-high.  Gosh, the other times I was here (in the early season) it was a veritable foaming torrent and so much snow covered the ground that I didn’t even know this was a camp site!  What a difference a season makes.

It is now 7:15 PM and I have consumed my low-budget dinner of two packets of broccoli and cheese cup-of-soup padded out with a dash of instant potatoes and a dribble of instant milk. Not a culinary delight, but filling. M&Ms for dessert completed this texture-free gourmet repast.

The plan for tomorrow is to hike out to the trailhead and see if there's a good campsite nearby. If not, we'll meander on over to the Cooper River trail and try our luck there. Between the two options, we ought to be able to find something. Then Friday we’ll move on over to the official Salmon La Sac campground and get ourselves comfortably situated.

My, this is a busy trail!  A couple of parties of hikers have passed by our camp on their way out, and a lot of big horse parties have slogged by on their way in. Sure glad were leaving; these woods are going to be full for the high hunt!

Bridge crossing upper Waptus River

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