We were at Junction Meadow (only 8000 ft) after a 15 mile day, and I can't even begin to describe the sense of dread we had that night...
Serious story regarding the weather though... the next night at Guitar Lake we encountered a mountaineer who had become lost in the storm that day (high winds, lots of snow, poor vis). He couldn't find the right way down off the summit, and, fearing for his safety, decided to descend as fast as possible (sans navigational tools). He descended the Guitar Lake side when we found him (he approached us and asked how to get to Portal around 5 PM)... gave him some food, water, boiling Nalgenes, etc. and put him up in our two-man for the night... pretty tight squeeze. He survived the night (albeit, very chilly...), and we made the push toward Portal in the morning. I'll tell you the whole story if you're interested -- it was pretty serious stuff.
Even day-hikes can turn VERY serious in the wrong conditions...
