Saturday through Monday, we went backpacking in the Ansel Adams Wilderness (in the eastern Sierras), and it was absolutely beautiful.  Last year, we went in August and it was a bit dry, but this time there were tons of different types of colorful wildflowers and the whole area was lush and green.  It was extremely picturesque, so far as we could make out through the swarms of mosquitoes that were attacking us.

Fortunately, it also thunderstormed all three days we were out in the wilderness, so the rain and wind gave us a temporary respite from the bug bombardment.  Despite all of this character building, though, it was still overall a good trip (as inconceivable as that might sound).

Highlights:

• Even with a late start (we left Pasadena around 6 a.m. instead of 2 a.m.), we made it all the way into Iceberg Lake with time to spare before sunset Saturday.  (Of course, we did have incentive to keep moving, since whenever we paused, the mosquitoes took that opportunity to alight in droves.)
• Iceberg Lake has floating icebergs!  The snow moves down from the peaks, then breaks off and floats out into the lake.  Sunday night, I tried to play with a little one, but it kept floating away.  Yet, somehow I managed not to end up swimming.  Monday morning, we were able to walk out onto some of the larger ones from the other side, well into the middle of the lake.
  
• We found a very cozy niche under an overhanging rock from which to watch (hide from) the thunderstorm that kept us from climbing Banner Peak on Sunday, giving us a chance to chill and enjoy lunch in relative peace.
• I waded through a very clear and refreshing-looking stream.  It was really cold, what with being ice melt, but I made it across!
• Camp stove pizzas: Trader Joe's flatbread + pizza sauce + string cheese + peppered salami, cooked over the camp stove in a pot until the flat bread gets toasty, then removed from the heat but left with the lid on until the cheese finishes melting.  Extremely good, especially when eaten at 1 a.m.
  
• On our way out on Monday, we swam in Cecile Lake at 10,200 feet.  Very, very briefly, on account of the temperature.  Still, it was fun.
• Then we took not quite the "right" path descending from there, and ended up basically rock climbing down with our packs.  Fortunately, I like rock climbing, and there were only one or two truly scary sections.
• Because we speed-hiked out the eight miles in three hours (again, with incentive), we not only had plenty of time to catch the last shuttle bus out of the wilderness, but were able to see and hike up to the top of Devil's Postpile in the meantime.

Lowlights:

• I have never seen so many or such vicious mosquitoes before in my life.  We did have bug spray for the first two days, but they didn't seem to care much one way or another.  Brian's arm, for example, had repellent on it, but they kept landing there and chowing down anyway.
• Not being able to climb Banner Peak.  We had been pretty excited about doing it, so it was kind of upsetting upsetting.  Not as upsetting as being struck by lightening would have been, though.
• Speaking of which, there was also the moment when I was standing on the rock projection high over Minaret Lake and Brian said, "Eve, your hair is sticking up."  At first I thought he was mocking my wind-blown and mosquito-harangued appearance, but then he clarified: sticking up/out radially, in all directions, as though charged with static electricity.  Of course, I got down from there as quickly as possible.
• As we were packing up after our iceberg jaunt, the snow we were walking on gave way underneath me and I rammed my left knee into a sharp rock as I fell.  Although nothing was damaged seriously, I got what looked like a pretty deep gash (despite wearing pants) and I was afraid it would bleed/bruise/swell a lot.  I bandaged it, though, and it did just fine the whole hike out without getting too sore or even bleeding all that much.
• Immediately after this, when I went to put my spare camera battery back in my pack, it slipped away and fell under the rock.  This prompted me to crawl through a space between the rock and the surrounding snow into the little opening in the snow and rocks underneath, which itself was something of an adventure, and made me very glad I'm not claustrophobic.  However, it was also cold and wet and pointy, and I failed to find the battery.
  
• We did not make it out early enough to get dinner at the pizza place we love, whose motto is "We Toss 'Em, They're Awesome."  (The place is rather boringly name The Pizza Factory, so I just refer to it as We Toss 'Em.)  However, the BBQ ribs and prime rib sandwich we got instead were quite tasty.

I really enjoy backpacking, despite the potential discomforts and occasional foiling of plans by nature.  It's very satisfying to test my strength, endurance, and resourcefulness a little more than typical daily activities do, and I love experiencing the awesomeness of the natural world so intensely.  I'm sure it's key that this is all in moderation, though; this was only a three-day trip, and in the bathroom of the restaurant where we ate afterward, I found myself waxing poetic about the wonderful invention of hot water faucets.