Paradise River to Nickel Creek, August 15
The good: waterfalls with narrow steep sides, reflection lake, Box Canyon, Sylvia Falls, Martha Falls. There was a bathroom with flush toilets and a sink!
Our destination was Nickel Creek, a short way past Box Canyon, which is one of the potential trailheads for those starting on the Wonderland Trail. That means it has some facilities and parking. If I was going to bail because of my ankle, Box Canyon was my last chance. I decided that I could just take a little more naproxen and it’d be good despite being a little concerned about our upcoming 12 mile day. The day started cold but then warmed up so by the time we got to reflection lake I wanted to change my shirt. The problem is that it’s right by the main road and tourists kept walking up. I just tried to be quick about it.
The bad: Eroding, scary trails that crumbled beneath us. Toothbrush failure. I’m still lactose intolerant and apparently the cheese in the 4-cheese mashed potatoes is an issue. Someone opening a cooler at the parking lot asked if ‘anyone’ wanted snacks but didn’t mean us. And we wanted snacks.
The photo doesn’t really show how bad that section of trail was. Even my friends who were striding confidently across all those questionable bridges thought this was sketchy. 10.9 miles
