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
