High Sierra Topix

maverick wrote:
How were the wildflowers up the Laurel drainage? Did you find a partner to exit Grinnell Pass?

Did anyone use McGee Pass, it supposedly was mildly damaged by mudslides?

There was a sizable patch of small wildflowers on the grassy shore of Laurel Lake. Elephant heads, miniature indian paintbrush and sorry Bill, I can't remember the name of the yellow ones.
I went with option B and exited over Bighorn and Shout of Relief passes instead of Grinnell. It was so scenic, I don't know why it wasn't option A?
The eastern side of McGee Pass had several sections of about 4-5 ft where mudslides took out the trail but easily manageable.

Plants and other wildlife for my trip to the 2018 meetup at Grinnell Lake can be seen at:
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/24
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/25
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/26
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/27
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/28
Click on each photo for more views of the same subject(s).

I'll add a few things.

Ashery (Jeff) arrived Friday morning after an epic ~25 mi. attempt to get there on Thursday. sekihiker and I chatted with him some on Friday before we left. I certainly had a good time meeting all the attendees.

After most left, I hiked up Red & White Pass on Friday morning. Very steep above the snow fields, but the view north is worth the climb. Passed on climbing Red & White peak, as it looked like a class 2 talus slog, with little extra view to reward the ~1200 foot climb from the pass. Then I went south over to the 2nd recess and explored through Upper Mills Creek Lake on Saturday. Found one of Richard's lost items (will PM).

The area near Mono Creek was mostly notable for a major fly population. In all, there were lot's of flying insects throughout the area, though at least the mosquitoes were not that bad. I saw several hikers wearing head nets. Wildflowers were generally in good season. The air was generally not good, with smoke from the Ferguson fire oddly wafting up the Vermilion Valley and into the Mono Creek basin except for Thursday and Friday before about 5 p.m. Some of the JMT hikers I spoke to had started at Red's instead of Yosemite as a workaround. It was very warm throughout (highs about 85 F at ~8500 feet) and night time lows on the ground of 47-55 at my camp locations of (8,500-10,800 feet). There were quite a few SHR hikers, I spoke with at least 12 Thurs-Sat. Lake Edison is near full with the buoys near VVR being underwater. Not much worry about the ferry running all season this year (though we did have to wait 40 minutes for them to relocate the pier). None of the three maps I looked at had the use trail to Grinnell in the right place beyond Laurel. I spent quite a bit of extra time on Thurs searching for it without success.

My take: this area would be better to visit mid to late August when one could expect fewer insects and a bit cooler temps. The only campsites at Grinnell with any shade are on a small knoll where the SHR passes at the top of the notch beyond Laurel Lake. The sun was brutal.

On a personal note, the knee held up well so I'm back in the game finally.

On the way up towards Grinnell Grinnell Lake from Red & White Pass Red & White Lake from the Pass Looking towards Red & White Peak from a meadow below Laurel Lake

We were sorry to miss seeing everyone at this years Meetup! I was looking forward to seeing the HST crew and to finally bringing Candy along.

We were unable to get away due to an unexpected opportunity to make a big move to a little cottage downtown. The change will allow for more time in the Sierra in the years to come.

Thank you to everyone for posting photos! It may be a few months until we can get into the backcountry, so living vicariously through HST will have to do for now

Plants and other wildlife for my trip to the 2018 meetup at Grinnell Lake can be seen at:
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/24
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/25
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/26
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/27
https://www.inaturalist.org/calendar/se ... /2018/7/28
Click on each photo for more views of the same subject(s).

Thanks Sekihiker!

Glad to read that you and Beau had a wonderful time. Did you enjoy the Upper Mills Creek Lake area, a special place?

Upper Mills and the whole basin were quite special. I may even go back in a month, using the Lake Edison approach, instead of Mono pass. I had Mills Basin on my short list for a while as I continue to try and visit the places that Phil Arnot writes about in his book, High Sierra.

Upper Mills and the whole basin were quite special. I may even go back in a month, using the Lake Edison approach, instead of Mono pass. I had Mills Basin on my short list for a while as I continue to try and visit the places that Phil Arnot writes about in his book, High Sierra.

Well de javu, our next year's Meet-up location in SEKI is also a place described in his book.

richlong8 wrote:Upper Mills and the whole basin were quite special. I may even go back in a month, using the Lake Edison approach, instead of Mono pass. I had Mills Basin on my short list for a while as I continue to try and visit the places that Phil Arnot writes about in his book, High Sierra.

I too am captivated by Phil Arnot's writing, and his choices of wonderful places to see. It's a nice contrast to the bevy of guidebooks that are a bit on the dry side.

- Elizabeth