We arrive at Duck Lake at about 5:00pm and set up camp at the southeast end in a nice flat area surrounded by smooth, sloped granite. It's been a tough day and Phil and Barry seem intent on taking a short nap before dinner. Scott is not tired but is essentially immobile, and decides to nap out of boredom. A quick look at the toe reveals a swollen jigsaw puzzle made out of black, blue, red, and purple pieces. He describes it to the others who are in their tents and compares it to Barry's neon-colored aquasocks, without the green.

A growling stomach awakens Scott at 6:45pm and he goes outside to fire up some dinner. Phil has a bit of a headache and indicates through tone and implication that Scott do the cooking. (Phil and Scott were sharing two-person meal-in-a-bag dinners on the trip as were Barry and Tom, or would have been had Tom been along). As Scott climbs back into his tent to get the lighter with which to start the stove, a light rain begins to fall. Dinner would have to wait.

The rain continues, heavy at times for an hour and a half. Around 8:00pm, Scott notices three areas in his tent which are sprouting small leaks. He grabs a paper towel and mops them up as needed. As darkness begins to close in, he becomes increasingly worried. How long can he stay awake after dark, hunting for puddles with the flashlight and mopping them up? He wonders if the others are also experiencing any leaks but says nothing, and nothing is offered. The worrying seems to have been in vain, however, as the rain turns first to a light drizzle and then stops altogether around 8:30pm. Now if only it doesn't start up again.

A cooked dinner is out of the question now so Scott munches on some snacks. Presumably the others have done likewise. Nothing to do now but go to sleep- but that doesn't last long. Scott wakes up to the sound of wind and moderate rain at around 11:00pm. He reluctantly feels around for wet spots where the leaks were earlier, but all are still dry. The rain and wind continue until after 12:30am and Scott nods in and out of sleep during this period. He decides there is no point to feeling for leaks anymore- if the tent leaks, then so be it. He has a warm sleeping bag and the PolarGurard filling performs well when wet, and it really isn't that cold outside, being perhaps in the mid forties.

A couple of times after that throughout the night he wakes just to the point of listening for more rain or wind, but hears none. A quick search of his senses for a damp feeling also thankfully proves negative. On the third occurrence, he opens his eyes and sees vegetation shadows on the tent. This is a good sign as it means the Moon must be out. Unzipping the tent flap reveals a few clouds but mostly clear sky. It is probably around 3:30am, and is the last time he will wake before dawn.

Dawn arrives and Scott checks his sleeping bag. It is slightly damp on the outside at the foot end but has remained dry on the inside. Stepping outside under a beautiful blue sky, he is anxious to dry the tent and get on the way. Barry and Phil rise soon after and begin to dry their stuff. They have also managed to stay relatively dry through the night. Sunrise paints a pretty picture as it strikes the Silver Divide Range in the photo below, giving no indication of the previous night's copious rainfall, so uncharacteristic for this time of year. Soon the small band of clouds visible in the picture thickens and begin to move our way, however. It appears that we will be unable to completely dry the tents before the overcast sets in, but in a fortuitous happenstance, just before the clouds cover the Sun from our perspective, the leading edge evaporates. This phenomenon continues over the course of an hour or so and Scott, at least, is able to completely dry his gear. Soon we are on the trail for the final push over Duck Pass, the descent past Barney Lake, and down the canyon to the car.