Hey Justin,
I was an SCA volunteer there years ago. So no up to date info re: trails, etc. Here are my general impressions from back then.
Scenery:
Beautiful high lakes. Open, big pines. Views from an alpine environment out across dry lake beds and into Nevada basin and range, sagebrush country. Kind of unusual that way. Lot's of aspen, very pretty. Back in the day, Basque sheepherders carved pictures of women and letters written in basque language into the trees to pass time. Now they're head high or higher, looking down at you. Cool when you stumble upon one.
Wilderness quality:
Super-remote, it's a trek to get out there from any major city. On the one hand the remoteness gives it a lot of wilderness quality, and relatively few users out-of-town users. On the other hand there's fair amount of grazing, and horsepacking, and the use is heavily concentrated around the lakes, where you could expect cut tree branches, pounded campsites, tangled fishing lines, trash in the firepits, toilet paper under rocks, etc. Again, ten years ago, so now idea what the patterns or management is now.
It's a neat and rarely seen (by city people) part of California. I guess overall, I'd say, definitely make it a stop if you're on a grand tour that takes you up that way, but I'm not sure I would drive a long way solely for that area.
Feel free to ask any other questions, will answer as best I can.
Oh, also, snows up there, so depending on the year, it follows the cycle of snowed in, wet and buggy, then dry and hot. With lots of beautiful times in between.
