The next morning, I woke up to sprinkling rain and protesting feet. Upon doing a quick inventory of what was left of my food supply, I discovered I'd lost most of the breakfasts and some of the snacks to that blasted raccoon, but all the suppers in their vacuum-packed bags remained intact. That was okay - I had extra suppers so could always eat those for brekkie if I needed to, and new supplies were coming Saturday.
The bearspray situation was grim, though. I made arrangements to have another canister included with Saturday's food drop (thank you, Daryl, Danette and Dan!) and fervently hoped I wouldn't run into a maniacal bear til then. Shaking the can I'd used, I thought there might be one more squirt left.
Then I turned my thoughts to the foot dilemma. I made the decision to change the next two days' itinerary slightly: rather than spend the first night at Reed's Dump and the second at McKay's Harbour, the two wilderness camps, I would set up base camp on the waterfront at Lion's Head for both nights and see about getting rides back to the trailheads in the mornings. This would allow me to complete these hikes, but would also give my injured foot a rest from the extra weight of the pack. As well, it would afford me time to attend the clinic in Lion's Head and have the toe taped properly.
After inquiring at the local pub I was able to find a retired couple to do the shuttling, and the plan worked out well. The first day was very rainy, the kind of cold rain that chills you to the bone, so I was very glad I'd packed my heavy-duty raincoat. Views were pretty much non-existent so I spent my time avoiding slipping on the wet rocks, and trying to figure out where I could find a llama to carry my pack. When I didn't get anywhere with that, I considered becoming another Mr. Katz from Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" (a wonderful read), and heave heavy items from my pack over the cliff indiscriminately. Then I began to make a mental list of what I could send back with Dan on Saturday - did I really need that second can of propane? What about the packed pair of pants - wouldn't the pair I was wearing do me for the week?
On the second day, the gorgeous weather returned, making for a great, albeit short, hike. A red fox crossed my path, startling us both. I stopped and found a geocache, and DNF'd (Did Not Find) another.
All in all, an enjoyable couple of days, though I would like to come back sometime and stay overnight at the two wilderness camps. They both looked very cosy.
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