"Originally was scheduled to join Chad Thomas and Michael Graupe on a 4 day backpacking trip to Big Arroyo with the intention of climbing Squaretop and Kaweah Queen. Then Chad and Michael (and Chris) got struck by lightning on Ericson Crags, with Chad sustaining a direct hit. Thankfully they all survived, but the trip was put in jeopardy. Maxim and I decided to still go, even with thunderstorms forecasted for every day. Our plan was simply to start and finish early, and that is what we did. I picked up Chad's permit in Mineral King and started up the trail at 8am. I didn't know about the shortcut so we took the standard trail. We took the trail over Glacier Pass and scrambled over Hands-and-Knees Pass just as thunder started to echo in the distance. We made it down to Big Arroyo and set up camp before the rain hit. The same SAR helicopter that rescued Chad the weekend before landed next to our spot and picked up a lady who twisted her ankle. The dichotomy between the two search and rescue operations was somewhat humorous. Maxim ate wild mushrooms along the way claiming they were Portobello mushrooms. The approach was not that bad. While there were two passes to go over, the ga..." — seancasserly • Jul 29, 2022