Indian Heaven Backpack Adventure Day 2

Day 2

• 3.4 miles hiked
• 2 hours hiking time
• Camped at Lake Wapiki 5206′ elevation

Well, night number one seemed a little moist.  We don’t think it was raining, maybe the humidity was soaking the trees and the wind blew it off and it seemed like rain.  But, when the morning came the sun was shining and the tents were all dry.

Sunrise at Deep Lake

We got up and worked to pack up our campsite into our backpacks.  We made our breakfasts.  People brought a variety of breakfast foods:  oatmeal, cold cereal, pre-cooked bacon, I had some homemade hot chocolate cereal and my homemade bread.  Some scouts were in a bit of disarray with their supplies, others were more organized.

We read from the scriptures as a group and discussed what we read as a morning devotional then headed for the trail.  We paused for a group picture then headed south.

Group Photo at Deep Lake with Mt. Adams in the Background

The trail started out gradual and level with several snow patches.

Day 2 on the Trail

Trail Break

Beautiful Meadow

Then, we came to the base of Lemei Rock and started an incline.

Lemei Rock

We had a climb up to what I call Lemei Pass where we turned and saw Mount Rainier.

Mount Rainier

Just on the other side of the pass was a Lemei Rock.  A huge structure that juts up in the air hundreds of feet.

Lemei Rock

We continued on and the incline continued but we got a reward a few hundred feet up the trail as we emerged on a field of brown gravel with a beautiful view into the distance with Lake Wapiki, our destination for the day in the bowl a few hundred feet below!

Looking East with Lake Wapiki Below

The vista was magnificent with Mount Adams to the north and Oregon’s Mount Hood with what I think was one of the Twin Sisters to the south.

Mt. Adams in the BackgroundMount Hood with Twin Sister?

Across the gravel slope we started the descent to Lake Wapiki.  I spotted several colorful flowers along the way.

Looks like a Wild Dandelion

Wild Honeysuckle

The trail down was some of the steepest terrain we have encountered on this hike and it seemed to go on for a long time.  We crossed several snow patches and encountered one lone woman who was hiking up the hill.

Break on the Downhill

We were about halfway down the hill when we told the scouts we would be backtracking the next morning right back up the same hill!  There was only a little moaning and groaning but I was a little concerned about it!

We got down the hill then turned back on a side trail to climb a little bit to beautiful Lake Wapiki!

Setting up Camp at Lake Wapiki

Tents and Pond at Lake Wapiki

No sooner had we pitched our tents then the talk of getting in the lake started!  I was ready to go and get some of the trail dirt and sweat rinsed off!  Tory (one of the other leaders) and several of the scouts joined in and we had a great time getting refreshed!  The water was brisk but it felt great!

"Refreshing" High Mountain Lake

We built a campfire to help get warmed up and then worked on lunch and merit badges.  Some of the scouts mixed in some critter hunting and tried their hand at fishing.

Merit Badges Around the Campfire

Merit Badges

Salamander Hunting

There were several more beautiful flowers around the edge of Lake Wapiki.As we worked on merit badges, I had some fun projects for the scouts to make.  We made survival bracelets out of parachute cord, a pretty popular craze right now.  Pretty much everyone got in on that one.  We also made leather pouches.

Will with Tory Making a Survival Bracelet

Lake Wapiki was one of the favorite spots for many of us as it had plenty of room and the lake was so scenic.  We made dinner and had a nice evening devotional.  We broke the scouts into two patrols.  Each scout did a personal presentation on a Duty to God topic and we had discussions among all the scouts.  It was a wonderful exercise in spiritual growth and most of the scouts participated.

Campfire at Lake Wapiki

After the devotional, Will worked with the scouts on some star-gazing for the astronomy merit badge.  Since the clouds/fog obscured the sky on the first night, they took advantage of the clear sky and sketched drawings of the moon.  It was a wonderful day of hiking and the after lights out chatter wasn’t too bad as most of the scouts were tired and ready for bed.