Maple Creek – Campsite #1

I understand why this campsite is here, but I personally would never want to camp at it. If there’s an emergency on the creek, or if a slow-moving group wants to split the creek travel into two days, then sure this campsite has a purpose. It’s located just a few metres away from the portage landing, but it’s located directly on the trail so there is no privacy from any groups passing through on the portage. The fire pit at the campsite was extremely overgrown to the point I didn’t even see it because it was almost completely covered by the surrounding vegetation. Seriously, look at the picture titled “Fire pit and seating” and see if you can spot the fire pit. Someone had started a fire a few feet away directly on the ground, which comes with major risk and should never be done. Either they didn’t see the actual fire pit, or they just didn’t want to use it. Either way, if you’re camping at a campsite and want to make a fire, you should only ever use the designated fire pit. Aside from the overgrown fire pit and the single old rotted log beside it, there’s one overgrown tent spot nearby and another patch of ground even more overgrown that looks like it could be a second tent spot if absolutely needed. This site is also completely exposed to the elements, offering very little shelter. Between the two campsites on Maple Creek, this is clearly the inferior of the two and I’d argue it very rarely gets used.