Saturday evening the kids and I, Tank, and visiting archaeologist Peter hiked up to Heitman Lake and camped for the night. Nora had a babysitting workshop/class all day Saturday (until 4PM), and we knew it was supposed to rain on Sunday. So we had to pick someplace close to the road and yet exotic. No Shelly Lake and Sharatin mountain for this trip!
Heitman Lake was perfect. A beautiful lake and view over Womens Bay, and yet only a quick 800 foot vertical climb to the alpine.
We carried a bucket of firewood for the stove (thank you Peter!) and camped on a soft mat of crowberries and bunchberry. So soft - who needs a tent floor? Stuey does not like sleeping with bugs so I brought him a bug nest to set up inside the teepee. I brought Nora her own lightweight tent. Tank slept by the wood stove with Peter and I.
We lit the stove and cooked up a big pot of black beans and rice. The sunset was gorgeous - shafts of golden light that spilled through the mountain passes and lit up the Coast Guard base and Bells Flats.
At night Tank stood guard at the tent door for an hour. Then the fog rolled in. For some reason we all woke up around 3 AM and town was lit up but visible below the fog. Very cool looking. Then it totally socked in and got wet. Tank got cold and climbed down into my sleeping bag to dry out and warm up.
In the morning we lit the wood stove and had mashed potatoes for breakfast. Tank and Peter had to make a trek to the lake for cooking water. And then it was time for home. All downhill to the car!
Patrick
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