We were super grateful about the permit, and jazzed to finally be out of the car. Everything seemed so lovely, and I saw a cute chubby, fluffy marmot running alongside us through the field (here it is above, having reached it's home). A hummingbird flew right in front of my face, hovering at eye level for a moment before gliding away, and throughout our journey more marmots, chipmunks, etc. continued to prance about. Thinking of all the little woodland creatures that followed her in the movie, I told Patrick I felt like "Sierra" Snow White. :)
The hike started out so flat and relaxed, following a crystal clear creek, and providing the opportunity to chat with other hikers/campers we encountered. But not long past this point, we began the uphill through forest, where we met an onslaught of mosquitoes (in a panic I sprayed my eyes and mouth with bugspray), and we also discovered by checking our GPS that our guidebook seemed to be under-reporting some of the distances to junctions and landmarks. I think we did pretty good- 11 miles in 5 hours including breaktime, despite me not having done backpacking in 2 years- but I was reaching my max as we took the diversion from the trail to Ireland Lake, where we were determined to camp. Just a little bit of sunlight remained, but enough to see it was a gorgeous location, and quite remote too. With the exception of the large jackrabbit that ran past our tent, we thought we were utterly alone, until we saw a headlamp pierce the darkness further down the lake, which was the only sign we ever saw of those campers the entire time we were there.
We were smitten with the scenery outside our tent....until we stepped out of it in the morning. The wind that had kept all the bugs away at night had died and we became feasts once again! After a fresh dose of chemicals, we braved staying stationary long enough to take a picture to preserve the memory of our campsite. Kinda weird how our waists and ankles line up with the lake's edges- gives the photo a slightly odd look.
Onward back to the main trail, but enjoying the sights along the way. We took more breaks and decided we'd set up camp a lot earlier since we knocked out a lot of the hike already the prior afternoon. Thank goodness, since my right knee got strained from all the unaccustomed work, so the easier pace was most welcome.
At the tallest point of our loop hike (just over 10,000 feet)- one of the ridges surrounding us.
Evelyn Lake- it was such a vivid blue!
Around the upcoming bend we followed the lupine & paintbrush-lined trail down to what appears to be a hanging valley where Vogelsang High Sierra Camp sits (people can reserve canvas structures to sleep in and there are nicely kept composting bathrooms, a store and canteen supplied by shipments on mules). 
This was our lunchtime spot at Fletcher Lake, adjacent to Vogelsang. We catnapped under a pine tree and listened to the cascading snowmelt (slightly visible on the right).
We hiked a total of probably another 11-12 miles that day, our goal being to camp just a few miles from the trailhead so we could finish it up quickly in the morning. It was just in time too, since I was nearly in tears that night for the discomfort in my knee and worry I'd not be able to do our day hike up Mt. Dana the next day. But having extra time to camp and rest that night did it a lot of good, and turns out hills worked a totally different part of my leg anyway- it was mostly the extension of my leg on flat ground that seemed to make it flare up. We finished up the last 3 miles in the morning, with time to spare to buy snacks and ice cream at the Tuolomne Meadow store before meeting up with some pals.
Patrick's coworker, Michael, and his wife, Stephanie, joined us on the ascent up Mt. Dana- the second tallest peak in Yosemite. The hike to the top is only 3 miles, but it was very strenuous!
We thought we were making good time- after all, the view was already grand! But boy, were we disillusioned, lol!
About halfway there, although I think the next half took more than 50% the time.
Increasingly amazing views kept us motivated to push onward! The trail from this point was steep dirt path covered with chunks of rock, and eventually became boulders you had to stairway up. I did better on the slow but steady feet-dragging part (such as the below left and earlier), but got too low on fuel for stepping up the big rocks quickly (below right), whereas Stephanie found her niche and suddenly rocketed ahead of us!
A whole lotta uphill between the time these two pics were taken! Relatively speaking, the picture to the right is almost to the top (like 80 feet), but I did it at a snail's pace, I was so low on energy at that point.
We made it! 13,053 feet. The view from the backside revealed what seemed like a giant abyss, and further out, Mono Lake.
We packed 4 mini victory champagnes as a surprise! Stephanie declined so we gave hers to the other couple at the summit; the man was totally tickled by it and thought we were the coolest. :) Actually, we were all tickled- at that elevation the bubbles were insane. The tiniest pour into our mouths and the champagne just foamed up!
A half hour rest for lunch was enough to get us chilled as the wind began to pick up, so we began a very grueling trip down (torture on our knees by the end of it), since we went slow to watch our footing on the boulders and loose gravel. At least there was enchanting wildlife around to keep our spirits lifted on the descent!
(There is a second deer in the upper left corner.)
