Water: All normal seasonal flows are running, none have excess water. The un-named stream between Mono Meadow and Illilouette Creek was crossable by stepping across rocks.
Insects: The flies were bad below 7000 ft., the mosquitoes were bad up to Edson - there were clouds of them on the cross-country route to Edson, and while I was camped in a dry, sandy ground site, as evening approached the mosquito clouds drove me into my tent despite DEET, at which point I had to get rid of the ones that entered the tent with me. Sunday was breezier and my site at Ostrander was well above the lake on sand/rock - not much problem with mosquitoes.
Swimming: The water temperature was great. I love swimming in Ostrander because of the rock bottom and deep clear water. Edson...fortunately the water gets deep quickly enough where I was camped because the soft mud bottom is knee deep.
Glacier Point Road Shuttle: Awesome! Hikes that begin/end at Mono Meadows/Lost Bear trailheads are common, and require either multiple vehicles or a mile walk along the road between the two trailheads. Not this year with the shuttle. The new shuttle is free, and runs frequently (20 minutes or so), starting at Badger Pass and continuing to Glacier Point. It appears to be well utilized - day visitors after 10 AM can avoid the parking issues by parking at Badger Pass Ski Resort and riding the bus, the bus I caught was well occupied but not overfull, and the roadside situation is a lot calmer than in the past.
Glacier Point Bathrooms: The idiocy is back, the nice bathrooms are closed in favor of outhouses. I understand the lawsuit claimed that the bathrooms caused water flows that killed a rock climber...I saw a natural water flow from a seep across the road just above the Glacier Point parking lot, shouldn't that be good evidence that the lawsuit is garbage?
Pictures...
The night before I stayed at the Wawona/Big Trees Hotel/Lodge. I do hope the trademark dispute gets resolved soon with DNC getting nothing...
On Saturday there were clouds building over the crest and I eventually heard thunder, but where I was it was sunny. Clouds building behind Mt. Clark:
Edson Lake is pretty:
Edson Lake from above, with Half Dome and Mt. Starr King in the background:
There were a lot of flowers out throughout the hike:
Hart Lakes:
View of the Clark Range:
Ostrander Lake:
