It was a rainy day... No takers to this morning's jaunt so the hike leader pressed on by himself. On the way up the trail from Panel Mine Road it was not actually raining, just drops from the trees so a poncho was still required. The rough trail along Little Quirk Lake was in decent shape, just high (wet) ferns. At the destination the poncho was removed and erected as a shelter so the hike leader could light his stove and have some hot soup under cover as the rain began again. After a leisurely lunch the shelter had to be "struck" in double quick time because there was only 1 poncho... Wet socks were exchanged for dry ones and plastic bags on the feet into soggy wet boots. However, we were wet again in 20 minutes because water was still coming in? Back to the parking area the same way, no side trips. In the rain and cloudy conditions, the leaves looked especially colourful. Another good workout, with proper equipment made a comfortable hike.
