Stories
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I thought I would like to go to Snag because the lake had smelled of fish and must be good fishing. But the trail descended very steeply down and as far as I could see, and I figured it might to too difficult coming back out, since I wasn't sure how far it went.
So a singular incident happened at Widow Lake which changed my whole trip. I had been having trouble with my water pump. It was a MSR ceramic side-handle pump water filter. I had waited for it and pre-ordered before it was even on the market. Back in those days there was not much in the way of water filters and this thing was a dream, easy to pump and a filter that could simply be cleaned with a thin kitchen scourer. It was giving me trouble and not pumping. I was down on a log at the lake, and no water would come out. I took the head off to see if there was something wrong with the check valve and it promptly fell into the water. Now I was in trouble. No check no pump.
The water was a couple of feet deep and there were a million mosquitoes. I had a cotton shirt and wind-breaker with the hood up to fend against the critters, but I was not going to get undressed to go in after the check valve. I could see it, which was difficult because it was black in color. I rolled up my left sleeve and reached for it nearly to my shoulder. I got my thumb and forefinger on it but it squirted away and was gone. Now I was in trouble.
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