August 8

The best part of the rain was that the bugs went away as it rained. Marie and I stayed dry and slept fairly well through the shower. When it stopped, the little biters came back in swarms. I mummified myself inside my sleeping bag and was not bothered, but Marie could not get back to sleep. At first light, Marie decided she was getting up and it was time to get out of there. She told me she was going to take down the tent and I groaned my ok. I slept for a little while longer with no covering.


We ate our breakfast and packed up while waving and slapping at pests. We started on the trail earlier than I usually do and found respite from the bugs about a mile down trail.
At that point we found a place where lots of trees had blown down in a storm. We walked along and Marie took it upon herself as our leader to clear trail. She did a great job of moving anything about 6 inches in diameter or less. Teamwork was required for a few logs, but if any of you plan to go down the Crag Creek Trail, know that it is more passable because of Marie.

When then came down a ridge and found that our trail was over grown with lots of little shrubs and plants. It became the Crag Creek "path of least resistance" instead of a trail. We marched on while the rain soaked leaves happily transferred the liquid into our clothing. We were soaked to our chests and then found a river crossing. The trail had eroded. We less than a mile to hike, but a river was between us and our car, so we bushwhacked for a half an hour or more along the bank trying to find a place to cross. There was a place where the trail crossed the river on the map, but if a bridge was there, it was washed or crushed long before we got there.
We then decided to find a shallow spot and wade across. I chose a tree to cross on, but the women moved through the wet cold river up to their belly buttons, wow. We then decided to just walk straight north, knowing that we would hit the road or trail. As we found a clearing we stopped for a break and then followed what looked like an old trail for bit. We then cut through more brush and came out EXACTLY AT THE PARKING LOT!
Bobbi had packed beer in her trunk for us. We all took off the wet clothing and packs and laid articles out on the warm rocks. We then enjoyed a beer relaxed. We got to the car just after 10am and headed back to Carlton after a long while. Marie and I got home at around 1:30 and quickly did laundry and cleaned the house to host her Mom, Dad, Aunt and Uncle that evening. We cooked a great dinner and went out to listen to music. Needless to say, I am home but I am still moving around.