[kiliki]

This is the first really dumb thing I've ever done a backpacking trip, so no lectures, please. We meant to do an overnighter to Waptus Lake-the trail is snowfree and maintained to the lake, said the ranger (there is the trip report part of the post). So we headed out yesterday and started on the trail. However, we did not bother to study the map or carefully read the trip description in 100 Hikes before we went, and we hadn't been on this trail before. So we are climbing up and up and up and I'm thinking, geez, I didn't know we had to climb over a ridge to Waptus. Unbeknownst to us we had missed to turnoff to Waptus miles ago (we just never saw it or the sign!) and were hiking up Polallie Ridge. So we hike for hours...getting colder and wetter (it was so cold up on the ridge in the woods) before thinking, hey, this doesn't seem right, lets look at the map. We figure out our mistake and think okay, we'll just find a good spot here or try to make Waptus this way but there were no flat spots and it was so freakin' cold up there I said this sucks, lets go back down and go to the right trail. So we did but it was too late to make the lake before dark so we didn't make it there. Sigh. Lessons learned.

[MooseAndSquirrel]

Hey, you're not alone! Spooky.....Three of us were doing a July 4th holiday backpack on that same darn trail for the first time to Waptus Lk. a few years ago after a heavy snow winter, and after a while we lost the trail in snow and started climbing and traversing a slope in the woods- thinking we were on the right route. Same thing, didn't pay enough attention to things like the map, etc. and we ended up deep in snow with heavy packs trying to sidehill our way along- yeah right. Finally we checked our map and discovered we were way off course and by that time had wasted a lot of time and energy and it started to rain pretty heavily (chance of rain was forecasted) so we wimped out and retreated home. Of course we soon came upon the proverbial fork in the road where we had blundered off to parts unknown- and plain as day there was a trail sign pointing the right way! How in the hell the three of us had missed it we'll never know-probably blabbing away.

[Backpacker Joe]

Well certainly WORSE things have happened. Glad only your frustration got the better of you! Lessons learned! TB