This was a trip that added plenty to my level of backpacking knowledge. It showed me that a standalone tarp can handle three days of rain, whether I want it to or not. It showed me that base-camp trips are a fun way to see diverse country, that hiking partners can be found on the Internet, and that one can never quite be sure that trailhead junctions are what (or where!) they seem to be. I learned nothing but good things about west-side trailheads - they can be even less crowded than the steep east-side entries, for example. While hiking through a genuine forest was new to me in the Sierra, it wasn't all that bad compared to the Oregon jungles that I usually fail to see through for views of peaks and lakes. While the final route did not match up to the original plan, I was not greatly disappointed; the rain had quite a lot to do with that, and our improvised route showed nearly every bit of country that we'd planned to see. Once the weather relented we had perfect weather, perfect solitude and amazing views of unnamed peaks and seldom-seen lake basins. I hope to return to that area and check out the adjacent basins in Bench Valley and upper Goddard Creek some day.
[It must have been a great trip, since all these wonderful memories are reclaiming me over sixteen months later!]