Before last night’s early bedtime, we had discussed getting an earlier start today in order to beat the worst of the holiday traffic we expected to be heading back to SoCal, and we were both up and about by 6:30am. After a cup of coffee, Carter packed up his bag and headed off to Lake 1 for a final fishing episode while Chris finished his coffee time and took a more leisurely approach to the morning. By 9:00, Chris was packed up, a few minutes ahead of Carter’s return, and we headed out about 9:15. The downhill walk was easy and breezy, and we were 1,200′ lower and back at the car in just over an hour. By 11:00am, we were back in Bishop getting some great food from Jack’s (which was packed with people dining indoors, something we thought was prohibited now across the state – maybe just an Inyo County thing?), and we hit the highway not long thereafter, eating our lunch as we drove. Despite the problematic beginning, this turned out to be a fine trip – the base camp idea worked out great, although now that we have a good idea of what the trail is like, a return trip is in order with a camp at Lake 5. What was most remarkable about this adventure was the absence of crowds that make July Fourth weekend the Sierra’s busiest all year – we saw only two other groups with overnight gear and just a handful of day hikers, trail runners, and fishermen, and it mostly felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves, especially while at the high lakes. The Tyee Lakes basin is definitely an under-appreciated attraction albeit in an area chock full of them.