We had several different options on how to get back to the car at Agnew Meadows today, and we talked them all through the night before. We could walk the 2-1/2 miles north up to Thousand Island Lake, but the shortest trail back from there would be over 8 additional miles down the San Joaquin River. We could retrace our steps south down the JMT and back to Shadow Lake, but that route would total 7-8 miles and involve climbing over the ridge we’d descended yesterday. None of us had researched the third option, a steep trail that drops eastward from Garnet Lake’s outlet to a camping area below, from which we’d rejoin the River Trail – the cutoff looked to lose over 500′ in half a mile, but it would make the total hike out something less than 6-1/2 miles with virtually no gain except the easy grade back up to Agnew Meadows from the river. In the end, we opted to save sore knees by minimizing distance and chose Door Number 3, the steep cutoff. The morning was gorgeous, a little colder here at 9,800′ but wonderfully clear – a light breeze rippled the lake surface and marred Banner Peak’s reflection, but it looked like it would be a beautiful day. We got ready much earlier than the day before and left camp at 7:30am, first walking along the lakeshore until reaching the steep use trail leading back uphill to the JMT – once there, we followed the trail about 1/4-mile east to the log bridge, crossing to where we’d seen a narrow trail leading eastward yesterday. This trail led through some rocks and over a couple of large slabs before dropping into a tight, shallow gully – this ravine emptied like the top of a roller coaster into a steep chute filled with small boulders and filled at its top with a snow field. We made our way over/around the snow without much drama, and the two-hundred-yard rock hop down the chute was not too difficult – very little in the way of loose rocks. At the bottom of the chute, we found a ramp system leading down to a worn trail heading into the trees, all of this following the general route we had expected. Once into the trees, the trail forked, the left path leading out to a point overlooking the cascades tumbling down the face of the mountain – we couldn’t see the path continuing below, so we headed back to the fork and went right, following this trail through some dense but pretty forest and then more steeply down the hillside. Again, we seemed to be moving in the right direction, even passing a “No Fires” sign that should signify an official trail, but we had expected to stay closer to the cascades on the way down. After about 30 minutes, Chris reached a stream which he took to be Garnet Lake’s creek, and, following it downstream, he caught up with Carter in another quarter mile. We waited here for Pedro to catch up, did a health check (yes, knees were sore but still functional), and continued tracing our way downstream. We passed several tent sites on the opposite bank, and we quickly realized we were walking along the west bank of the San Joaquin River, and the River Trail we were supposed to be on was on the other side – somehow, we had missed a turn. We started looking for a crossing, but the river was moving fast in this area through a series of narrow gorges. So, we ended up walking another half-mile on the faint use trail, scrambling over various obstacles along the way, until reaching a wider area of the canyon where our path seemed to lead further away from the river – here, Carter took off eastward into the forest, determined to find a crossing. We had brought a pair of small, ultralight walkie-talkies, which had so far seen limited usefulness in the forest and mountains, but Carter had left before Chris could remind him to take one. We waited a few minutes before heading down the trail another 200 yards, figuring Carter would be doing the same along the river. Sure enough, we soon heard Carter hollering from the bottom of a draw below us, so we bushwhacked our own route eastward, eventually finding Carter proudly waving us toward a jumble of logs that bridged the river from bank to bank. Carter made his way across without incident, but Chris had more of an adventurous time, slipping and dunking a boot but at least not falling in completely. Watching all this, Pedro quickly traded his boots for water shoes, and he comfortably waded across the calf-deep water. It took us about 15 minutes to bushwhack up the slope on the other side, eventually finding the River Trail about 100 yards uphill from our crossing. Chris waited for Pedro to put his boots back on while Carter took off again, this time taking a radio with him. We quickly got strung out again along the trail, but the walking was easy and we each chose our own pace. After about a mile and a half, Carter called Chris’ radio saying he was at the Shadow Creek trail junction, but that he was moving on since he didn’t want his knee to cool down and lock up – he said he’d left a message in the dirt in case the radio didn’t work. Chris got to the junction about 10 minutes later and decided to wait there for Pedro, looking for Carter’s message which he assumed was scrawled into the dusty trail – what he found instead was sticks arranged with the message, which Chris had walked right past not even noticing moments before. Pedro showed up in another ten minutes, and we proceeded to walk together through familiar ground, past Olaine Lake, and up the long incline to the meadow plateau. Here, Chris picked up his pace a bit, knowing the trail was nearly level over this last mile. Carter called on the radio again saying he’d made it to the car (he’d taken the car keys with him when we got to the River Trail), and Chris again was about 10 minutes behind him when he arrived back at the trailhead. Pedro’s knee, like Carter’s, had held up long enough for him to amble in another 10 minutes after Chris – we cleaned up a bit and put on some fresh clothes before driving back into Mammoth Lakes for burgers and beverages at the Mammoth Brewing Company. Although Thousand Island Lake will have to wait for another time, we all so enjoyed this trip – Carter, in particular, has the high elevation bug, and we’re all looking forward to another hike, most likely next summer.