Spring backpacking in the southern sierra

[trav867]

Thanks again for everyone's help- My girlfriend and I took Friday off and drove up from LA. We were at Mill Creek TH by 11:30, and aside from seeing a group on horseback right away, we saw no one all day. The weather was perfect and the first few miles were covered in wildflowers. Around the 3rd time the trail crosses the creek, we saw the newts, about 20 of them lounging in a pool. They were not at all timid and I was able to get some good pictures of them- orange as goldfish!
We hiked until the trail became covered in snow enough that it was a pain to follow- around 6000 feet, I believe. We turned around about a half mile from Squirrel Meadow and camped at about 5500 feet. We decided to head back down to the car the next morning, rather than fight the snow.
Overall a very relaxing, uneventful trip, and with 3000+ ft of elevation gain, a good primer for the summer. Thanks again to everyone for their input.