64 – 67 KM

First Nation Carvings

We sleep until 7:00am, which is something like backpacker’s 10:00am. We have coffee and breakfast rice – a concoction of instant rice with pudding mix, cinnamon, Craisins, and slivered almonds.

We pack up and beat the rain down the wheelchair accessible trail. There are a few interesting native carvings along the path, which leads us to a bridge to Anthony’s Island. We hope to meet up with Steve’s team, as they double back from Confederation Lake to a different shelter on the west side of Inland Lake.

We find a note at Anthony’s Island shelter that we have just missed the front of Steve’s party train. Holly and a few others pushed on to avoid the rain. Coral and Marjie hike up the trail to find Steve and the rest of his group. They eventually arrive and we share trail tales, and discuss options. They make clear the feared climb to Confederation Lake should not be. Our optimism grows.

Anthony’s Island Shelter

The forecast is for rain off and on all day, so we four settle into our tiny three platform cabin. The rocky ground has my name all over it. After a lunch of powdered peanut butter & Nutella on crackers, the ladies day-hike back to the campground in search of electrons for Coral’s iPhone. I wander north along the rainy shores, while Jim naps and dreams of drier far off places.

Coral and Marjie return. While their things were getting charged, they figure out how to take a cab from the campground to Powell River for candy, trail mix, and bug spray. Later, Jim is quite intrigued by the ladies’ cab adventure, and asks a lot of detailed questions about the logistics. Hmmm.

I make pasta with red sauce, and we fall asleep, sheltered from the still pouring rain.