We had spend two days on the Hudson Bay Brigade Trail, taking us to the Sowaqua Creek Forest Service Road. The morning of the third day, we had an emergency take place in camp, and one of the groups that had shared the camp had to be evacuated. (See: The Hudson Bay Brigade Trail Part I)
By the time the affected group had been evacuated, and we were packed and ready to go, it was after one in the afternoon. Fortunately, the trip back to the previous night’s campsite was just a short one. By 4:30 PM, the tent was set up in Colvile Camp, and we settled in for a relaxed dinner and evening.
At this point, we (that is, my dog Chester and I) had kind of joined up with the group of three that we had met on the first day; we were kind of a loose confederation of hiking groups. We didn’t hike together along the trail, but we met up now and then when stopping for a break, and leap-frogged along the trail.
We had a pleasant evening at Colvile Camp, and played some cards and conversed late into the evening. Another group also joined us the the fire for a while, and the company was enjoyable.
The next morning, July 4th, was the final day on the trail. We packed up, and were on our way sometime around 9:30 or so. This last section of trail, which had been the first day’s travel coming the other way, was to be about 11 km, with 600 m of elevation gain, and 1100 m of loss. In other words, not an easy day, but no marathon.
Between Colvile and Manson’s Camp (halfway back to the car) Chester and I got quite a way ahead of the other group. We stopped at Manson’s Camp and rested for a bit. We had quite a bit to drink (there is a small stream there) and lay down in the shade for a bit. Chester was particularly tuckered, and I got out his sleeping pad for a bit of a nap.
After a while, the other guys caught up to us, just as we were preparing to head out again. We said our goodbyes, and wished one another the best. Chester and I, all rested up, would easily beat them back to the parking lot, so this was the last we would see of them – or so we thought!
Another ten minutes along the trail, and Chester suddenly refused to go any farther. I coaxed and cajoled as best I could, but he just wouldn’t continue. We had another 5 km to travel, and about 500 m to descend. He seemed to be exhausted and overheated, and unwilling to go another step. After a bit, I tried to carry him for a while, but I couldn’t keep that up for long. I tried rigging up his pack as a kind of sling, and it helped for a bit, but only temporarily.
Eventually, I just stopped, and waited for the others to catch up. I was exhausted and discouraged. I’m not sure what I had in mind – perhaps see if they could carry some of my load, and try to put Chester into my pack? At this point I don’t even remember exactly…
After a while, I heard their voices approaching from up the trail. Chester heard them, too, and jumped up to see them as they came into view. Well, he got very excited to see them again. Turns out, that was all it took to get him hiking again, and he was fine the rest of the way to the car!
A short while later, we were back to the car, and on our way home in air conditioned comfort…