Day 1 - Agnew Meadows to Lake Ediza - 8.5 miles, 1300' climbing
           Friday, July 11, 2008 - Driving up late last night, we arrived in mammoth area around 2:30 am and crashed in a campsite near the visitor center.  Asleep a little after 3, we were up about 7:45 and at the ranger station by 8:30.  Relatively uncrowded, only one other group waiting for a permit.  It was pretty smoky from all the fires up north which may have scared people off.  Got a permit for Agnew Meadows/Shadow Lake, ate some breakfast, and drove up to the lodge area to catch the shuttle.  Relatively slow start, not getting on the trail until 10:30 or so.  Very warm out and views obstructed by smoke.  Pretty slow going, making it up to Lake Ediza around 3.  Nice campsite on the northwest side of the lake, not as buggy as by the lake.  A lot of mosquitos out...  Pumped water and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, views getting better as the smoke cleared out some.  Warm evening, very calm on the lake, nice sunset.  Light out until almost 9.

Day 2 - Nydiver Lakes and Iceberg Lake - 7 miles, 1600' climbing
            Saturday, July 11, 2008 - Up around 6:30am, nice sunrise, lake very calm.  Hung out around the lake and in camp for a bit, then woke Mikey up for a walk to Nydiver Lakes.  We followed a use trail up the creek behind our camp to the lakelet/glacier at the base of Ritter and Banner, then took a turn to the north east towards Nydiver.  Good views of the big peaks, two groups of climbers headed up.  We came out on top of a ridge with good views of the lakes, but several hundred feet above.  Decided not to head all the way to the lakes and just go back the way we came.  Many good views to be had.  Back in camp around 9:20 for breakfast.  After breakfast we eventually headed off towards Iceberg Lake.  We took a slightly offtrail route, meeting up with the trail from the west near the 2.5 on the map.  Iceberg lake was true to its name, full of icebergs, which also made the air much cooler.  The trail up to Cecile involved several snow crossings and some very steep sections, so we decided to be happy with Iceberg.  Great views of Clyde Minaret and the rest of the group.  Headed back down after a number of pictures, getting back to camp for a late lunch and a relaxing afternoon.  Most of the afternoon was spent in the tents hiding from bugs and a short thundershower.  Even better sunset than the night before, another calm and warm night.

Day 3 - Lake Ediza to Agnew Meadows - 8.5 miles, no climbing
            Awake a little after sunrise, another beautiful morning.  Made the hike down and out relatively quick, back to the shuttle stop after about 2:45 of hiking.  Despite being very buggy, and hot, and smoky, there were lots of wildflowers.  We were back on the road a little after 12:30 and all set up for an early arrival back in SD.  There had been a number of thunderstorms up and down 395 the day before and one had resulted in a flash flood in the Independence area which covered about 3/4 of a mile of the road with mud.  Traffic was backed up about 15miles and we had a 2 or so hour delay.  Lots of big thunderheads around, some thundershowers that day as well.  After getting through independence we had a straight shot to san diego and made it home a little before 10.