Day 5 - Lake 11,582 in Ionian Basin to Top of Le Conte Canyon (10,600'): Got up around 5:50am to see clear skies much to our relief.  Took our time getting ready, on trail around 8:30am, joked about a few tiny clouds on the horizon.  Relatively easy going down the drainage from Lake 11,592' to Chasm Lake.  Didn't walk to edge of enchanted gorge since chasm lake had relatively steep sides.  Terrain was easy to about 11,550', then steepened up to get to lake 11,828'.  From this lake to black giant pass was relatively easy cross country.  Upon reaching the pass, some substantial thunderheads had begun to roll in, so we decided to keep moving rather than summit the black giant as planned.  Met up with the JMT again near Helen Lake, saw several hikers heading up towards Muir Pass as we descended to the lakes at the head of Le Conte Canyon.  Clouds darkened, but rain didnt come until 2pm or so, some lightning, but not as much as the previous day.  An hour of light rain, spent some time reading in the tents, then wandering the hanging meadows and lakes near our camp.  Very beautiful area.  ~5 miles, 1300 feet of climbing, 4 hours hiking.

 Day 6:  The Black Giant:  After the daily thunderstorms of the past three days, we hadn't been able to climb either of the peaks we had planned on, so we decided to get an early start and go back to climb the black giant.  Up at 6 or so to achy joints, bars for breakfast and on trail by 6:20 or so.  Made good time up to the peak, on top before 9am.  Some steep terrain, but not too bad, loose rock a little of a pain, but not hazardous.  Good all around views from the summit, looking back to the Ionian Basin from which we came and over to Dusy Basin where we were headed.  We could also see our camp far below near the top of Dusy Basin.  Clouds were starting to roll in, so we snapped some pictures and signed the register before heading down.  Back to camp by 11:40, pumped water from the stream and had some lunch.  Contemplated moving camp, but it began to rain so we decided to stay put.  Relatively light rain, another enjoyable afternoon in this very pretty area.  ~6.5 miles, 2750' climbing, 5 hours hiking. 

 Day 7 - Top of Le Conte Canyon to Dusy Basin:  Up around 6:20, on the trail at 8 am.  Clear skies at first.  Blazed down the trail to Le Conte Canyon Ranger station and then right on up the trail to Dusy Basin.  Good views on the way up to Dusy Basin looking back into Le Conte Canyon.  Nice clouds in Dusy Basin, unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries shortly after we reached the basin (lots of time reviewing the pictures we had taken while waiting out the rain in our tents...)  Set up camp and ate lunch in lower Dusy Basin, very nice area, nobody else camping nearby.  Light rain mid-day, relaxing around camp, played HORSE with rocks, some cards, and got some reading done.  Cooked dinner and enjoyed a nice sunset.  Good light on the palisades.  7.5 miles, 2100' climbing, 3.5 hours hiking. 

 Day 8 - Dusy Basin to South Lake via Bishop Pass:  Finally an early start, on the trail by 7am, up the pass by 8:20.  Nice views looking back on Dusy Basin on the way up, and of the Palisade Range.  After crossing over the pass, many nice lakes to see to the North.  Hurried down the trail, back to the car by 10:10, retrieved the other car from north lake and were in Bishop by 11:30 or so.  Time for sandwiches at Schatts Bakery...  9.5 miles, 1200' of climbing, 3:10 hiking.

 Looking back on the trip, we saw some amazing stuff, and got a little experience route finding and crossing very rugged terrain.  It turned out to be a little more than I expected, but was a good experience (maybe a little more in retrospect when it comes to being out in the lightning storm in the Ionian Basin...)  We got rain on 5 days in a row, all accomanied with some degree of lightning, and a thunderstorm was building as we left the wilderness.  Compared with last years 12 days without rain, it made travel more difficult and limited the hiking window (especially in higher and more exposed areas), but made for much better pictures with all the clouds... It was nice getting off the main trail: since leaving the JMT near the end of Day 2, we only saw one other person until crossing over black giant pass on day 5.  In the future, I think it would be good to get 7.5 minute maps of any areas where cross country routes will be done in addition to researching of the routes.  We found our way across the Ionian Basin with the route I laid out, but a more detailed map would have been nice.  Also, the "I'm 24" excuse for not training at all didn't work as well as the "I'm 23" excuse, and I expect this will be the general trend, so a little more pre-trip training (as oppose to "on-the-trail" training as worked so brilliantly last year) would be a decent idea.  Thanks for a good trip guys, glad we made it...

Anyone interested in more information on the ionian basin, check out R.J. Secor - The High Sierra - Peaks, Passes, and Trails or High Sierra by Phil Arnot.  Or, you can check out the Ionian Basin and the vicinity on google earth (make sure to turn on terrain) at  37° 5'53.02"N 118°41'4.89"W (coordinates for our camp by lake 11,592'.)