Hiked Melakwa Lake on what might be one of the last nice days. The lots were empty and I parked on the main one-way-when-someone-feels-like-it-road just past the sign near the toilets. There were maybe a dozen cars.
The fall foilage is dwinding fast. 25%-40% still on the trees in some places, and other places are bare. The ferns that normally overgrow the trail have died back, likely due to cold temps. The trail, overall, is in great shape. There are a couple very small trail-streams and mud bogs, but nothing major. The log crossings were mostly dry and tacky. The snow is gone from the trail (see my trail report a couple weeks ago), and there was even dust in a couple places.
The summit was super windy and cold. I had on a long sleeve wool shirt (Icebreaker 150) and a top shirt, at the summit I had to bundle up with the down I brought and the wind was piercing.
Unfortunately the hike was not without some irritants. One being the person who flipped me off going the wrong way down the one way road (almost hit them as I was not expecting them to come at me at 30mph), the person who was decending the trail who I could have kissed since they refused to stop as I was rock-hopping going up (only 3 people out of 10 going down actually stopped for me going up), and the tent that someone left at the lake - it's blown over, has a bag of trash in it with critter holes and has a wet bag and pillow in it. I was taught to pack it in/out, so this one hurt. I would have lugged it down had I had a larger pack.
Gaia stats for my nerds like me: 9.3m distance, 3h53m moving time (4h total time), 25:46 pace.
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