Once again I find myself as a chaperone for the Oak Harbor High School backpacking class. We have a small group this year and as we huddle from the rain in front of the stadium one student never appears and we finally leave without him. We are headed to Baker Lake to Anderson Point. It is a pretty easy 2 mile hike down to a campground by the lake that has bear boxes, fire rings and very rustic toilets. It is a great spot for a first backpacking trip.
When we stop to buy our Northwest Pass we are warned that the creeks are running high due to the thunderstorms yesterday. Brian and I look at each other, thinking about the log bridge over Anderson Creek. It is a slanty single pole log with a rickety cable to hang on to and a tree fell and cracked it this winter making it even sketchier. Brian and his wife Shelley hiked it last weekend and it was still possible even with the damage.
We head down the trail in a light rain and I am, as always, bringing up the rear. Brian hikes with me, warning the kids to stop at Anderson Creek for us. Before we know it we round the corner and Anderson Creek is roaring before us. The water is running completely over the log bridge, the pole supports with the cables barely above the flow. Shelley and the kids have been looking at a couple logs that might be possible upstream but they are wet, mossy and extremely slippery. A slip would mean a pretty nasty drowning death in the snags downstream and Brian, Shelley and I confer and Brian makes the decision to turn us around. We pause for a snack and a drink of water and we begin the plod back up to the vehicles.
Once again in the back, Brian and I discuss our options and Brian decides we will drive up Baker Lake Road and look for a place to car camp. The kids have already experienced a 4 mile hike with full packs so now we start the hunt for a place to camp. As every campground is closed our hope fades the further up we get. I know that there is an outhouse and a bear proof garbage can at the end of the road but we don't know if we can camp. We are almost there when we see Brian start to turn the van around. We talk him in to continuing to the end since we are almost there and once we get there he is glad we did. There is spacious room for all our tents and even a picnic table!
We quickly set up our tents in the drizzle and all the kids write down their phone numbers. Shelley and I drive back down to Hwy 20 where we have cell phone coverage and Shelley contacts the parents to let them know our new location. Part of our dilemma is that we only have my little snow peak stove for our group to cook with and we also need more tarps. Brian's tarps and cookstove were stashed at Anderson Point the previous weekend to save space and weight. I call my husband John and ask him to bring up our car camping cook stove, more tarps and some dry firewood, but his truck isn't running well and he isn't sure if he will be able to borrow a car, so Shelley and I decide to go into Concrete to see what we can buy. We see a large fluorescent sign advertising a yard sale and swing by. We score a huge 20x20 tarp for ten bucks and the lady also agrees we can fill up out trunk with her uncovered wet firewood for five more dollars. She also gives us three large dry pieces of cedar for kindling!
Next stop is the hardware store on Main Street where we buy a bundle of dry firewood and the clerk generously gives us a large cardboard box of dry wood pieces and some paper for starting the fire.
Shelley eats gluten free but has never heard of 5B Bakery so of course I have to stop to introduce her. After scoring a strawberry rhubarb hand pie and a blueberry muffin we continue to Outdoor Ventures and purchase two large fuel canisters for my camp stove.
We head back up to the camp where German exchange student Greta organizes all of us to hang up the tarps. While we were gone they managed to start a smokey fire but the addition of our dry wood helps kick things up. As we are huddled around the fire a car drives up and my husband jumps out. He and our friend Mike have brought us more firewood, camp kettles for heating water, tarps and camp chairs. But when they go to set up the camp stove for cooking they realize it doesn't have all the parts and when they head back out an hour later they take it with them. We will be using my little snow peak stove and the fire to heat water and cook for the weekend.
It is starting to get dark and I crawl in my tent and snuggle into my sleeping bag. I wake up cold around 2:00 am and realize I need more air in my sleeping pad so I roll off and blow more air until it is quite firm, but that helps and I fall back to sleep, finally warm as long as I keep my stocking hat on. I roll out of bed around 7 and teach the young man who is up, Dylan, how to get the fire going. He's been up since 5:30 and will start the fire tomorrow. We start heating up water and eventually more kids get up and join us and start cooking their breakfasts. Some had been cold during the night but all had stayed dry with the tarps over their tents.
After breakfast we head up the river to the foot bridge over Baker River where we take pictures just as it starts to sprinkle. We head up the Baker River Trail and once again I am bring up the rear. We cross several little streams and the kids always wait to help me across and I manage to keep my feet dry. Eventually we get to a large stream where there was a log bridge that is now washed out. Once we get to the end of the bridge we clamor down and scout out another log to cross the rest of the way. It is dry and we carefully walk across although Brian elects to crawl. Once we are safe on the other side we continue hiking until we reach Sulphide Creek and the end of the trail where we stop on the banks and eat our lunches. It starts to sprinkle again as we turn around to go back and by the time we reach the washout the log is wet and slippery and this time I crawl across it, too.
When we get back to camp we stoke up the fire and play a game of Apples and Oranges before cooking up our dinners and making smores. It is supposed to be even colder tonight, down to about 35 degrees and I take all the hand warmers out of my car and give them to the kids to help them stay warm during the night. I snuggle into my tent again. It is another cold night and I sleep a bit cold but Dylan has the fire going when I wake up and a hot cup of coffee helps. After breakfast we pack up and then scour the area, picking up all trash and broken glass from previous campers before walking down to the river to take a picture. The sun is out and it is warm.
We have a little extra time and so we stop at Baker Hot Springs on the way out so the kids can see a natural hot spring. A final stop at Five Guy's Burgers for lunch and we are back to the school by 2:00. It was a great weekend!
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