The weather was absolutely perfect - cool without being cold. I purposely did not bring a GPS, as I wanted a little mystery and exercise in routefinding on what was new trail for both of us. We consulted the map frequently along Fish Creek, as there were more creek crossings than I expected, and many downed trees with new bypass trails.
At one point, sure we were in the wrong place since the creek was on the 'wrong' side and I couldn't see a definite trail through very thick branches of leafless trees, Jane said "well, since we're in an Alder grove, we're probably where the map says "Alder grove".
Made a note that this trail would be spectacular in the fall.
At Fish Creek Camp, we had the place to ourselves and took time to find the very best campsite. Sheltered from wind, and very flat, we also made a mattress of pine needles under the tent, as an experiment in camping thermodynamics. Very comfy! And I think it worked. We weren't cold at all.
Jane was in charge of food, and will be on every trip from here on out, since she made fantastic pasta with a cheese sauce, red peppers, mushrooms, and spices. I usually lose my appetite higher up, and don't eat or drink enough water, but this was so good I had no problem cleaning my plate.
The next day we encountered a few patches of snow that we elected to hike around to keep our feet dry, but nothing that was serious in the way of safety.
At Fish Creek saddle, we had options - take the trail around to Mineshaft saddle, take the shortcut down the gully to Dry Lake, or hike to Grinnell Peak first and then decide. We saw heavy snow on the 'main trail' slope, and a good amount of snow in the gully. Not knowing how tough it would be to navigate, we skipped Grinnel peak and headed down.
The snow was deep in places, slushy and slippery. Still easy to avoid if we went higher up on the side banks. The exciting moment of the trip was when a HUGE dead tree trunk decided to split in half and roll toward Jane. I remember the "CCCRRAAACCKK" sound, but don't remember yelling "Run! RUN!". Jane heard me, and with a great instinct, didn't take time to look back or ask why, she just danced out of the way. Getting run over by that thing would have broken her legs, if not been fatal. We both had adrenaline shakes for a while after that.
Dry lake was beautiful, with snow-capped Gorgonio and Jepson framing the background. A flock of ducks were enjoying the water.
Easy hiking down from there, to the junction of the South Fork trail. Here, we had decided to take it easy (almost done!), not pay attention, and ended up wandering downstream on some use-trail, instead of toward Grinnell Camp. It was beautiful, with inviting clear pools. After we acknowledged our unease that we should be way above the creek by now....we turned around. But not before Jane took a dip in the snow-melt water. If there is a female version of 'shrinkage' I'm sure she got it.
Up to Grinnell camp, we settled in (again no people). Didn't try very hard to find the spring that is supposedly nearby, since we had enough water. A good friend of ours met us around 7:30, and we shared dinner with him. Second dramatic moment of the trip: After heating up mulled wine in my cookpot, and pouring out our servings, he noticed a white blob in the bottom of the pot. A marinated Esbit cube!!! Luckily no one had sipped their wine/trioxane concoction yet.
I tried sleeping outside that night, but with a decent breeze, I soon got cold and took shelter in the tent. I don't understand how a layer of nylon makes that much difference, but it does.
The hike out was uneventful, but also beautiful. SGW is wonderful. Thanks Jim for the beta!!
(Cougarmagic note - I saw cougar tracks in snow below Dry Lake, and several bobcat scrapes above 9k' which was unexpected and very cool!)
