Hiker leaves main trail and finds two sets of footprints witnessed in Alpine County, California

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My wife and I were hiking for the afternoon in the Mokelumne Wilderness in Alpine County, California. Our destination was Granite Lake, two miles from the outlet of Upper Blue Lake. We reached our destination, had lunch and were returning, following the trail back the way we had come. When we reached a pond, about 1/3rd of the way back, I expressed a desire to my wife to take a hike southward across the same elevation level as the pond, to another lake called Evergreen Lake. There is no trail or pathway to this lake, and I thought it would take about 20 minutes to reach it. My wife declined to accompany me, so I told her I would return in a while. I began walking, trying to keep my position along the same contour line as the pond. The forest was fairly dense, and generally well covered with pine needle duff, generally underlayed with decomposed granite. After a short walk, I realized that very likely few people had ever gone where I was headed, as there were no signs of previous travel...