Jhiker, great TR - thanks for posting so quickly so the rest of us have an idea of what is was like up on the mountain the past 24 hours. My family, I, and Quillansculpture were up on the mountain for a couple of nights barely a week ago, and it we couldn't have had more perfect weather. Your TR is a cautionary tale of how quickly conditions can change for everyone who hikes the Sierra.
Glad you made it out safely and, looking at Doug's most recent report on the WPS, it appears SAR is pretty much done on the mountain and everyone is down OK.
For the record, that was Myles from the Portal Store who assisted your group (and others) in directing you to the old trail just before the North Fork creek crossing. Under the trying circumstances, I'm sure it was easy to get "Mike" out of that exchange. He's the evening cook at the store, but also a very skilled 5.10-plus climber and all-around great guy. That's one of the wonderful things about Doug and the Portal Store crew - they don't hesitate to head up the mountain to help when it's called for. Your situation was one of countless others over the years where Doug and/or his crew dropped what they might have been doing and bolted up the trail to provide assistance for others.
Glad everything turned out OK. Any chance you got pix that you might post?
