First things first.  Yes all the rumors about parking is true.  You will need a Big Pines day pass ($5) to park in the Vincent Gulch parking lot.  You can park on the road with your adventure pass, but parking seemed limited and filled up quickly.

It is getting hot up there.  Hard to imagine that 3 weeks ago, there was so much snow that you needed crampons.  There is no snow left on the trail.  Some patches here and there, but nothing at all on the trail.  Temperature in Wrightwood was 85 degrees on Saturday.  So the hike was hot.  Some cover, but not much.

Peak was pretty beautiful.  No marine layer finally, so you could see for miles.  And while up there, one of the pictures was an explosion of some kind, might have been at Edwards Air Force Base.  The other picture was a fire that started way off in the distance.