Drove up to Mike Lake planning to walk up the fire access road to do the Whiskey Trail loop. Arrived at the Malcolm Knapp UBC forest sign with all kinds of "do not dos", including no dogs, even leashed ones. I've never seen a sign quite like it! So schnauzer Frankie and I took the loop trail around Mike Lake. This trail is often wet but with all the sunshine lately it is quite dry, only a couple of muddy patches. Amazing tangle of roots in places. Unless you bushwhack, lake views do not appear until the east side of the lake. It is stocked with 1650 sterile rainbow trout every year and there is a floating dock from which to cast your rod. The lake is gradually being filled in by various plants and one day I suppose will be a marsh, bog etc. Bugs were not a problem.
I then when up the Incline Trail to the .8 km mark at the junction of the Eric Dunning Trail on the right, and the unmarked Knee Saver "too soft for horses"trail on the left. About 3 minutes in on this one you'll see a trail off to the left, marked by some alders, and this is the Donkey Spool trail. Went along this to the donkey spool, had some lunch and headed back. Whiskey Loop for another day.