Coastal Trail Day 2

Last night was a pleasant night for sleeping. The forest was quiet and the weather calm. We were treated to a bit of a light show, as some pretty intense looking storms passed over the Montreal River Harbor to the south. Happily, the storms stayed to the south all night. In the morning we emerged from the tent just in time to watch three bald eagles (one adult, two immature) fly over the campsite. We had oatmeal and coffee while we discussed the plans for the day. Although we considered heading back south or staying put at this campsite due to the unexpected difficulty of the trail, we settled on hiking farther north to see if the trail improved. The forest (and our gear) had dried out during the night and the surfaces we were hiking on seemed more reliable now. The trail however, would only get harder. At one point it climbed steely enough that it was necessary to place my knee on the step before using my hands to drag the rest of my body into a kneeling position at the top. Some of these climbs required a two person effort to get Mary over them. Next the "trail" emptied out onto a field of boulders on the beach. For the next couple hundred yards we would need to walk precariously across the rock beach. We soon came to another camp site, this one right on the lake. We had another conversation about staying or continuing on. Mary observed that the map showed the trail crossing twenty topo lines before the next camp site. So far we had passed four. They are twenty meter lines. Although we are disappointed to not make it further north on this trip, we don't want to risk an injury with the Long Trail a week away. We'll start hiking south tomorrow and finish Thursday or Friday depending in the weather and how fast we hike. We enjoyed a brief and very cold swim at the campsite this afternoon and will probably get to use our hammock if the weather continues to cooperate. Here are some pictures.