I drove up very early on July 5, picked up a wilderness permit in Mammoth, rode the mandatory shuttle bus to Agnew Meadow, and I was on the trail around noon. I was only going for two nights, so I went as far as Iceberg Lake (which is aptly named) to camp. There was lots of snow around the lake. By dayhiking across the snow and up to Cecile Lake, I could see climbers on Clyde Minaret. There wasn't much wildlife around, only the occasional marmot and a solitary pika. I was out on July 7 by noon. The streams are running low. Here in early July, they look very low like it was early August. The weather was mild, as were the mosquito clouds.
I had been led to believe that the talus slopes around Iceberg Lake were crawling with pikas, but I found only one.
–B.G.–
