the Route: I dangled several options in front of my two companions, and the mention of Evolution Valley sparked their interest. The 'standard' route over Piute and Bishop passes seemed a bit long to them, so Lamarck Col was back in the mix! We settled on a Piute-to-Lamarck loop, which both begin at the same trailhead, and left open possible side-visits to Goddard Canyon and McGee Canyon.

the Plan: this trip had several nice features. Larry and Julie were quite interested in Evolution Valley, having heard of it well before I brought it up as a possible tour-stop. For me, the trip would fill in several stubborn blanks that I had tried to fill in 1993 and especially 1996. My Muir Trail visits had left a hole centered squarely on Evolution Valley; this trip would bind the '96 route to all my southern jaunts so I could claim to my satisfaction that I had been on the Muir Trail from the Italy Pass junction south to Whitney (given my usual disclaimer about taking Cartridge vs. Mather pass). I tried to emphasize to my companions that Lamarck Col is not a simple path! Regardless of how often it's used, it is a long and demanding stretch with plenty of exposure to the elements.

the Commute: we took off Friday afternoon (11 Aug) for Medford and a visit to the brother who wasn't going with us. Tom and Peggy were glad to see us despite our short stay, and we slept comfortably in various spare places in their house and tent/trailer. Saturday was a long drive that ended in a reserved campsite at Trumbull Lake south of Bridgeport, where the 9500' elevation was supposed to prepare our bodies for the thin air we were about to live with for a week. We did not reach Lee Vining in time to acquire our trip permit, so another early morning was scheduled to reach Bishop before our permits would be given away at 10AM.
We reached Bishop with plenty of time to spare, stopping at the amazing Convict Lake along the way. By now it was clear that Julie was carrying extra weight, a cold her daughters had caught the week before. We ate a good breakfast, bought fishing permits and cold medications, and pushed the car up the steep highway 168 toward Lake Sabrina.