Day 60: Strolling along Baker Lake

August 8: It rained a bit during the night, but it was very light and very short. Since I had a mere 7.5 miles to hike today--and I expected it to be mostly flat and easy--I also slept in late and lingered in camp relaxing until 10:20 in the morning. I had hoped the weather would improve, but my hopes were dashed like a gazelle falling prey to a pack of jackals.

It was a dark and gloomy morning! On a clear day (allegedly), Mount Baker would be seen towering over the far side of Baker Lake.

The day's hike was uneventful. I didn't pass very many people along the way--it was too far away from trailheads.

And I arrived at Anderson Point at about 1:30 in the afternoon. It was an absurdly short day and crazy early to quit, but it was the last backcountry campsite until a very long road walk started in a mile or two. I didn't want to camp on a road, so I quit for the day at Anderson Point.

I was immensely disappointed to find the campsites crowded with tons of people, though. Squatters! It looked like most of them hadn't moved the whole day. Probably hiked out the 1.5 miles from the trailhead yesterday with all sorts of luxury items (I'd never seen so many fold-up chairs or giant tents at a backcountry site!) with plans to spend the whole weekend here. It seemed a little unfair that actual hikers get left with scraps.

Eventually I settled on a location facing to the south at the edge of a cliff. It was well away from the main crowds of people (and barking dogs), and a rather nice location with commanding views of Baker Lake--but the location was rather small, definitely unofficial and completely exposed to the wind which was strong.

During the afternoon, the skies finally cleared up with lots of sunbreaks, but the wind continued and caused me to spill my dinner when a wind gust blew it over. It wasn't a big deal, though--just an example of how annoying the wind was.

A little after sunset, the wind finally died down and life was good. =)

This was an interesting find along the trail and, perhaps, a sign of the times. This bottle of hand sanitizer was just resting on this rock in the middle of the trail for no apparent reason. And I found it exactly like this--sitting upright as if it was intentionally placed there.

Just in case you wanted to know what a backcountry toilet looked like. =)

This was the view late in the afternoon from my campsite. =)