Hike Into Willmore Wilderness Part Two

After we packed up on Sunday morning we continued on from Carson Creek along the Mountain Trail further in Willmore. The blister on my right foot was bugging me pretty good and I was cursing myself for having not got on it sooner. I think the new orthopedic inserts I was using in my hiking boots, which were supposed to help with my ankle problems, had raised my foot enough to find a new spot in my boot to irritate.
Harold was having a few problems with his heel so we decided that maybe we should hike the 4km to Eagles Nest Patrol Cabin and maybe plan to stay there for the night, rest up and do some day hikes the following day. Once we reached the Cabin, having to cross another creek in the process, we rested up and pulled some of our things out to dry in the sun.
It was early in the day however and it seemed a waste to seek the shelter of a cabin so early in the trip, we had not really roughed it at all yet. We decided instead to hike another couple of kilometres to a horse camp on the other side of the Wildhay River. The trail follows this river and it's tributaries so there are frequent water crossings, most of which require taking off your boots, putting on sandals and crossing the icy water. When we got to the planned camp we found that there was a couple staying there already along with their horses. They were pretty friendly and even offered us some canned food to take along with us. I decided against it as I had
plenty and the thought of adding more weight to my pack was not appealing. We carried on about another kilometre. My blister was getting pretty sore but suddenly across a clearing in the woods we saw what appeared to be another campsite. This one turned out to be unoccupied so we decided to stop for the day.
We set up camp again. With Harold's help I rigged up a shelter which we felt would work better. We spent the day lounging around, eating and relaxing. there was a stream nearby so plenty of water to be had. Most campsites in Willmore are set up close to water sources.
I let my sore foot air out and took inventory of my first aid kit to see what materials I had to deal with the blister. Turned out another was forming on my left foot, but it was still quite small.
We built a fire and after supper sat around chatting. In the distance we could hear thunder and the sky began to blacken. To the north the clouds were dark and lightning played across the sky. To the south the skies were clear. We seemed to have a 50 / 50 chance that the storm would hit us. Around 9:30 after much skywatching and postulating, the wind picked up and thunder and lightning began to crack about us. We dove for cover in our respective shelters.
My tarp is the Integral Designs Siltarp 1 which I bought from Mountain Equipment Coop.  I will give it a two thumbs up here for standing up to the wind and torrential downpour that came down on us that evening. As the lightning flashed all about us and sheets of driving rain passed over, it held up amazingly. It is hard to believe such a thin piece of fabric could hold up to that onslaught. My faith was renewed in the tarp shelter method! My only regret is that I didn't get a bigger one. The Siltarp 1 is 5 X 8 feet which sounds good on paper, but when you are a six foot guy laying under it in a downpour along with your gear it doesn't leave much room for error. I had pitched it higher than the night before so I was not rubbing against in all night, but it still needed to be relatively low or else the weather would be coming in from the sides too much.
Regardless I made it through the night, had a great sleep and we awoke the next morning to a big blue sky. The sun was streaming over the ridge and lit up the mountain face across the valley from us. It was to become a bit of a pattern for the rest of the week.