Ancient Lakes — Friday, Apr. 23, 2021

Road: some washboarding on the gravel, but that's it.  I parked at the Upper Trailhead described above, though it seems most people put in at the Lower one.  I found the descent from this angle really lovely.

Trail: I put in at the Upper Trailhead described above.  The description felt vague as I made my way down through the network of trails and tried comparing it to what I was seeing on Gaia and had read above.  In general, keep right.  You will end up hugging the north wall of the canyons as you make your way down.  There are a few talus sections which I was very glad to have poles for.  
Trails are quite dusty - fine powder - so good shoes/hikers were necessary for keeping feet happy.

Overnight: Stayed on the south side of Ancient Lake itself.  I echo what others say about you being able to see others, but there is ample room to be very well spaced out.  For reference, I counted 22 tents total in the morning - 2 larger groups (4-6 tents) and the rest were 1-2 tent parties.  But I only heard the voices of the folks closest to me - and I could have put myself somewhere quieter if I had wished.  (See picture - the big vast one has at least 10 tents in it if you look closely.)
Bring a trowel if you need to poo - ground is pretty compact and there aren't rocks to flip, and the open terrain makes doing your business a bit more logistical than when trees are plentiful.

Route Day 2: Hiked down to the base of the canyon, then up the southern wall, and out via the Quincy Lake parking area in the morning.  Totals were 2.5 miles in on Friday night, 4 miles out Saturday morning.  

Overall: Fantastic shake down to start off the season and get out of the rain!