DAY 2: Feather Cove – Manzanita Bluffs (16 K / 9.6 mi.  2100′⬆️ 1300′⬇️

I awoke with a start, as Jody announced, “It’s 5 am.!”, as she passed my platform on the way to the outhouse. WTF, was the first thing that came to mind. Heck, the sun didn’t even appear to be fully awake. And with that, I rolled back over and shut my eyes. Moments later, I heard a more insistent, “It’s after 5 am.” In a haze, I lifted my head and peered out the mesh door of my tent. It was nearly 5:30 am, and Jody appeared to be packing up. I careened my head a little further toward Stacey’s platform. She appeared to be rustling about. Dammit! Time to get packing.

We did, however, say last night that we should get going early. This would enable us to take advantage of the cool morning air, considering the climbs coming up for the day.

It’s weird packing up all by oneself. Paul and I have a rhythm and certain jobs we do to pack up and get hiking. He wasn’t there, so it was ALL up to me. I had stuff spread out all over the inside of my tent…because I could. I hadn’t quite worked out where things should go and in what order to repack. To think, that over two thru-hikes we crammed ourselves into this two-man tent for 5 months at a time seems so odd and frankly, ridiculous. As I lay on my back comfortably in the middle of the tent (Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL2), I honestly don’t know how we did it.

Fully packed and ready to go, I completed my stretches as Jody finished putting on her gaiters.

Our plan was to hike to coffee. Get in a few miles and get closer to a water source.

As per usual, the day started with a climb. Our breakfast stop was at a small (very small) clearing with “easy” access to water at Hinder Lake. To call this a lake was semantics.  It was more pond-ish than a lake. We were glad that we didn’t attempt to “push” to Hinder to camp. Namely, because there was no place to pitch a tent.

The trail wove through a healthy forest of Cedar, Douglas Fir, Ferns and other green growy stuff, that Stacey, who was a landscape architect in her “former” life, was able to easily identify.  It was like being on a guided nature walk. However, don’t expect me to tell you what the vegetation pictured below is, because I’ve already forgotten their scientific names. I just found them interesting, unique, and worth sharing.

Just after we stopped for our breakfast, we passed by the Bliss Portage Hut. Now this would have been nice to have been a destination, but frankly, as water people, you couldn’t beat Feather Cove.

The trail, so far, is wonderfully marked with safety cone orange square markers nailed periodically along the route.  Spoiler Alert. These will prove quite motivational later in this hike. The other nice thing is that they also post each successive KM by number. This way you know exactly how far you’ve gone…or have to go. On this trail, and this terrain, I prefer the Canadian math of kilometers. It makes you feel like you’ve hiked much farther than our mileage translation shows.

Ironically, we had to go down before we climbed up to Wednesday Lake. And then of course, we were also afforded several opportunities to fine-tune our blowdown navigation.

It was hot and a bit muggy as we reached Wednesday Lake. It was just after midday when we arrived. Here, we would take a lengthy break. We had all day, so why not use it…was our motto. From there we would have 4K left till our destination for the day, Manzanita Bluffs…all of which was uphill.

So, to rest up for our final climb of the day, and let the world “cool” down a bit, we went for a swim. Best swim ever! With the exception of a few other places, over the years, this was the first time I had the pleasure of an “alpine” swim without an ice cream headache. The water was the perfect temperature for swimming. We gleefully washed off our salt-crusted bodies (and clothes), had some lunch, and collected 3 liters of water, before it was time to meander.

As we were packing up to head to our final destination, a group of four arrived. Little did we know, at the time, that we would essentially “hike ” with them all the way to the Shingle Mill Pub.

The sign just past the “creek” flowing from the lake did its best to remind you that there would be ABSOLUTELY NO water for the next 7K…in case you weren’t sure.

With 2K left till Manzanita Bluffs, my left foot started “acting up”. I tried to dismiss the signals it was sending and focused on my gait and footfall. In some ways, I wasn’t surprised as this was the longest and most strenuous hiking I have done since returning in painful defeat (puny but true) from the Appalachian Trail last Fall. Ideally, I would have already put in the weight-bearing miles way before starting this hike, but the miserably slow pace of my healing (I hate getting older) did not allow for it. I had also packed on more than 10lbs of “depression” weight, due to my prolonged inactivity and the cortisol-rich environment that running a small business tends to produce. I was however,  very thankful for all my stair work, the paltry miles I was able to put in before this hike, as well as my thru-hiking experience and mentality.

The one thing I’ve noticed so far about this trail is that while it is strenuous (frankly, it would be even if one were in shape…it’d just be more fun), you are regularly rewarded for your effort with breathtaking views and vistas.

Once thankfully arriving at the Manzanita Bluffs Hut and camp area, we each staked out our corner of terra firma. Jody and Stacey however, reminded me of Goldilocks or the Princess and the Pea, as they moved and changed their tent’s location so many times, for just the “right spot”, I decided to take a quick nap before prepping (rehydrating) dinner.

Paul would have been proud of my quick and decisive action in site selection and prompt setup. More importantly,  I was completely gassed and wanted off my feet. I was a bit concerned that getting back up would be a problem.

No sooner than we had set up, the group of four from Wednesday Lake arrived. They were just as “enamored ” by the last 4K as we were. Surely it was longer than 4K, we all surmised. Another hour or so later, a group of gals arrived, equally excited about the climb. As flat spaces were scarce up here, we are glad we arrived first.

Upon finishing our meal, we agreed that we should hike to breakfast again. Stacey mentioned that a “local”, she had come across on the trail, mentioned that Malaspina Rd had a water cache. Cool! We might not have to conserve our water as much as we had planned. That meant coffee with breakfast!

Sleep came quicker than I anticipated.

Jody Chronicles:

Early into the evening and, apparently whilst moving about the inside of her tent, a significant laceration to her air mattress had occurred.  She attempted to repair it with duct tape which only lasted long enough to initially fall asleep. And because she had forgotten her sit-pad, she had no alternate means of “softening” her contact with terra firma. Thus, after a long day, it was an even longer night till daybreak. At least it wasn’t cold.