Many flowers were in full bloom. Indian Paintbrush and Mariposa Lily.
Bear Creek Spire is one of my very favorite peaks, and I have long wanted to get high up on its northern slopes. The Cox Col route would put us out of bounds on our return down LLV.*[Not so, see comments below] We let the Mono Creek crossing call the shot, and as it was dead easy-- off we went, up Mills Creek toward a life of crime.
We left the Mosquito Flat TH mid-afternoon, yet made the 7.7 miles over Mono Pass, and down to camp by 4th Recess Lake. After leaving the day-hiker Mecca of LLV, we had the trail and the lake to ourselves. Manu saw his first big Marmots, and Hares, and a few Golden-mantled Squirrels. Wandering up that long lake in the morning, I saw nothing but very small trout, I have no idea what else might be in those deep waters, which look so promising. The waterfall coming down from the hanging valley looked like a fun climb.
Our second day was grueling, and though Manu carried a liter of water, he suffered cramps, weakness, nausea and worse-- some of the water he drank came back up. Dehydration was the likely culprit, and after a rest day at Lower Mills Creek Lake, Manu improved dramatically. I still seem impervious to dehydration due to my camel-like abilities, however, with the worry about Manu, and the long, dry stretch ahead, I made a rare water carry of 1.5 liters up to Gabbot Pass. We found water very near the top of Gabbot, after carrying it from far below-- damn! Originally, we thought to climb Mt. Gabb, but instead we just carried on over North Cox Col, to a high camp by Dade Lake. It went very well for all of us. I left Bearzy's empty pack on him, for the strong handle to use in lifting or lowering him, but there was very little of that needed. I was grateful for the sound advice gleaned here about "North Cox Col." It really did make the crossing easier.
So, the route of our trip was this: Over Mono Pass to 4th Recess Lake on Day 1; near to Lower Mills Creek Lake on the troublesome Day 2; and up to Lower Mills Creek Lake for a Day 3 of rest, and fishing around. On Day 4 we crossed over Gabbot Pass, and North Cox Col, to a camp by Dade Lake. On our final day, we hiked out from Dade Lake through LLV to the TH below Mosquito Flat. The trip was about 33 miles, with 7,350' of uphill. Our biggest mammals were a closeup view of a big old Hare, and some nice sightings of Yellow-bellied Marmots. The next biggest animal we saw, we ate-- that was the Golden Trout I caught. Without my birding buddies (and stupidly leaving my binocs on the roof of the car!), I could only positively ID. 14 bird species, the best of which were the families of Grouse who exploded from around our feet on two occasions. The dehydration health issue, occurring deep in the range, was concerning, but was resolved pretty easily. We escaped the wrath of the rangers on our walk down LLV, * but now know for sure that the wilderness permits do indeed preclude mixing areas, which is a shame. *[Not so. Thanks to queries by "looks easy from here," and WD. I believe I am mistaken here. One must only head in via the pass/area of the WP, and then we're free.] The rule is necessary to limit the overuse of the areas, but on our walk out, we saw exactly 2 overnight parties, and 1 was a solitary camper. There were no others high in the basin near us. The whole trip was remarkable for the lack of other backpackers. We saw only 5 people after leaving LLV. We were alone at 4th Recess Lake, alone at our camps in Mills Creek, and saw no one on the day we crossed the last 2 passes. Alone again while camped at Dade Lake, and we saw no one well into the next morning's walk out. We had a great time in the mountains, but on our return, that damn Manu took off his boots, and went right back into the waves!
