I started my hike from the Alpine Lakes High Camp.
I took the road instead of the trails to reach Picnic Point, as I was told that there would be fewer bugs that way. The trail from Picnic Point to roaring creek becomes increasingly buggy until reaching the creek where a bridge is out. The crossing is knee deep but short and not difficult. The bugs feast on you if you take a moment to take your boots off. The kids crossed it on their own the first time, and we carried them the second time. I'm told that there is a log jam a little ways downstream to cross on, but I forgot about this while actually doing the hike.
After the crossing, the trail forks - left to Julius/Eileen/Donald, right to Ethel (which I'm told is very nice). The bugs from this point until midway between Julius and Eileen are insane. I hiked fast, periodically glancing to my left to see filtered views of Julius and then a beautiful waterfall.
At Eileen the bugs are tolerable, and there are some nice rocks at Eileen to have a snack. There are privies at Eileen and Julius.
The bugs disappear on the way to Lake Donald. I turned off the trail near the end of the steep section, and headed up the ridge for a cross-country route up to Tamarack Point (aka point 6935, aka McCue Peak). Cross-country route finding is straight forward here, with only a few low-angle snow fields. The rocks were very cool.
Previous reports mentioned a summit register, but I was unable to find it. A friend hiked McCue Ridge back to High Camp the previous day and said it was faint, with one ~50' knife edge section. I went back the way I came.
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