When we got to Mineral King, there were gobs of people everywhere. Had to turn around at the trailhead and park a quarter mile down the road because the parking lot at the end was full. Not a marmot to be found, but all of the cars were marmot-proofed so we dutifully wrapped ours in tarps too:
Mineral King is a very pretty place, even in the middle of summer:
Soon we reached the lowest Mosquito Lake. Mosquitoes were present, but not horrible.
We continued on up the unmaintained trail to Mosquito Lake #2, the first legal place to camp. A few other groups were already here, so we pushed on past Mosquito Lake #3 (Mosquito Pond #3?) to Lake #4, where we set up camp.
I took a quick peek at Lake #5, the highest lake in the basin. It had a nice, more alpine feel.
Back at camp we only encountered a few marmots, and they mostly kept their distance. Perhaps they'd had their fill of rubber car hoses for the summer already. The evening was warm, and we slept well.
The following morning, a few of us took a quick hike to visit the largest of the Mineral Lakes just over the next ridge. It's straightforward class 1 walking on the east side up to the broad saddle. On the west side, there are several mini cliff bands that are too short to show up on the topo. Some micro-terrain reading is needed to keep this to class 2, zig-zagging along a series of ledges and ramps. Otherwise one can get caught up in some brief class 2/3 moves, especially if one is impatient and opts to take the direct route (though this is simple enough without packs).
This was a pretty little lake, and despite the fact that it's much more secluded than the Mosquito basin there was a group camped there.
We hiked back out the way we came, glimpsing other basins on our way down that beckoned for exploration at some time in the future.
Overall a good quick trip. Considering this area is so easy to reach, it was less busy than I expected. Having a daily quota of 15 people helps, as does the requirement to camp no lower than Lake #2 (which is only reached by unmaintained trail) and the fact that this trail doesn't easily connect to others to facilitate longer loops.
