Sunday, July 13, 2025
End: Bastille Creek
Kilometers: 33.1
Approach Total: 79.7
I woke up with sore feet, but determined to continue on. Packing up my wet tent from my muddy spot, I tried to encourage myself by saying that this was the worst tent spot I would have on the whole trip, and that it could only get better from here on out.
My feet were at a dull pain as I got going, but I felt that I could continue at that level. I had put some Compeed gel blasters on to cover as much of the problem areas as possible.
The Walker Creek FSR continued on in its muddy form for awhile, with no traffic just as before. Logging operations had done some huge cuts in this area. It was difficult to imagine the size of the machines necessary to bulldoze their way up and down these hills, rolling right over all kinds of rough terrain.
I wasn’t able to stay dry for long, as soon enough I entered the portion of the road which is completely unmaintained, and where the bushes encroach heavily on the narrowing road. Constantly jumping between the left tire track and right tire track in order to avoid big mud puddles, I could not avoid brushing up against the wet bushes reaching into the treadway from the side.
By the time that I arrived at the Bastille Creek bridge, I took a break and checked on my feet, which were bothering me quite a lot. As soon as I saw them, I was disheartened. I had blisters on my toes as big as the toes themselves. The pads of my feet were just as bad.
I made the decision to call Mark and ask to be picked up. As much as it pained me to do that, it was clear to me that hiking into Kakwa was just going to serve to put myself into a corner in which I would be forced to attempt to hike on with mangled feet. Instead, I would have to heal my feet before coming back out.
Mark kindly made the long drive to pick me up, and I discussed my plans with him and his friend Bernard on the way back to Prince George. It was a disheartening situation, but I was encouraged by the things Mark and Bernard had to say.