I took a couple of shots of two of our morning rituals.
Condensation was always a bit of an issue in the Mid and although our gear never got soaked, it did get damp, so we set the bags out each morning to dry.
We set up the Mid in the afternoon when the snow was soft and damp then, when the sun went down, the snow would "set up" like concrete, so each morning we got out the ice axes and hacked the snow out around the stakes and the edges and freed the tent.
I took a some parting shots of Grayling Lake.
And we headed out.
We cruised down on ridges and slopes just south of Red Creek.
At the beginning there was plenty of snow and the travel was fun, but gradually the snow thinned and became patchy requiring some improvisation.
And finally the snow ran out altogether. Twas the last skiing of the trip.
We proceeded cross country on foot, which started out nice enough.
And got a little tricky with rotten snow and deadfall logs.
Then turned swampy.
We finally reached the Mono Mills trail very near its junction with Clark Creek. We were surprised the trail was so faint, we almost walked right over it without noticing.
The trail skirted the southwest side of Mt. Starr King and its satellite domes.
The burned snags were wild.
Mt. Starr King (left) and a satellite dome (right).
Eventually we found a tolerable camp site on a small knob with good views, but the weather darkened and it started to rain, so we headed down towards the valley in search of a better campsite and good views.As we hiked down we noticed the light brightening, first on Liberty Cap, and then lower, so we dropped the packs and hustled down to the rim to discover this incredible sight.
We could not get over our good fortune.Steve drinks in the view of Half Dome, Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall.
We also found a great campsite with a fire ring and plenty of wood nearby.
We stayed up late recounting the great moments of our adventure and retired to our bags underneath a fine starry sky.
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