Lake 1 at Cabin Camp 1

When the camp was built in the 1930s the CCC (Citizens Conservation Corps) & WPA (Works Projects Administration) built some small dams along Quantico Creek to provide small lakes for swimming & boating. I hiked about 5 miles round-trip to see the lakes and get familiar with the trails in case anyone was ever lost.

Lake 1 is now almost completely filled in but has a lot of wildlife including snakes. Hikers have to brave chiggers, ticks and snakeys to get to the lake from the cabin camps. I was going to do a little bushwhacking but am weary of fighting the chiggers. Two weeks ago I was using the natural bug spray provided by the park. It contains eucalyptus and lemon oil and reportedly works for some people. However, I was covered with chigger bites and went back to good ole Deep Woods Off with DEET. Even with that, the heat indices have pushed 110 degrees daily and the protection melts away so I abandoned the bushwhacking and hauled my hot, tired self back to camp.

This fungi looks like coral, huh?

The same plant as above with flower or seed pod spike I think.

 

Lake 1 almost filled in and not very deep.

Water snake - larger than most of the copperheads. It kept returning to the same section of rocks after I disturbed it by walking through its area.

This fellow spying on me - always so curious!

Last night our big group of cabin campers finished cleaning both camps during a raging thunderstorm. Cindy & John and I checked them out, locked the gates and settled in for a good night’s sleep. Today the heat wave continues. No relief predicted for the rest of this week.I am taking 2 days off to explore.