Southern Yosemite — August 2005

August 17: Having spent the night in Oakhurst, Dan Vandersteen and I got an early start for the winding Beasore Road, and arrived at the pack station at 7 a.m. I'd originally planned on at least two cars so that one could be spotted where we would leave, but we ended up with just two of us. When the packer heard that, he offered to get our car to where we would come out. I had not realized just how lonely this area was, so I happily accepted his offer. We left him with our packs, then headed for the ranger station, where a talkative volunteer provided much helpful information while issuing our wilderness permit.

We then had a pleasant nine mile walk up to Sadler Lake. We had a good camp site, not far from three gents who had everything short of the kitchen sink packed up.

August 18: I'd originally planned a layover day, but since there were just two of us, we headed up and over Isberg Pass. We took the time to climb 300 feet to the top of the minor peaklet next to the pass, which had a good view.

There was also a good view of the Minarets.

On the way down the far side of Isberg Pass, we encountered a trail crew, hard at work repairing and improving the trail. We appreciated their efforts, and ended up camping near their base camp along the Triple Peak Fork. There were 13 of them, some under Park Service, some under State of California, supervision. They hike as far as 7-10 miles to get to the day's work site. On the other hand, they have a cook, great food, and alternating 4 and 5 day work weeks, giving lots of time for their own hikes. I got a tour of the camp, which was extensive, but the head explained to me that after they left in September, it would be hard to tell they had been there.

August 19: A pleasant day's walk to Red Devil Lake. We saw only six people all day. An international group of four was being led by a Sierra guide. One of the trail crew supervisors passed us on the way to another group of his charges. After a navigation error that delayed us a bit, we set up camp by Red Devil Lake, a lovely place that doesn't seem to be visited very often.

August 20: We headed back to the trail, and over Red Peak Pass to Lower Ottaway Lake, a total of only 4-5 miles. It's a good trail to the pass. There was some snow, but nothing distressing.

From the pass, we had a view of the incredible switchbacks on the south side of the pass. Now, I usually groan a bit when facing switchbacks, but these are remarkably well done. They are smooth, with few rocks to stumble over. We dropped 500 feet in perhaps 15 minutes.

We met five people on the way down, before finding ourselves the only campers at Lower Ottaway Lake, which lives up to its reputation.

August 21: The plan was to reach Moraine Meadows. However, the hiking was remarkably pleasant (Merced Pass hardly deserves the name), and besides that, Moraine Meadows turned out to be soggy and mosquito-infested. We agreed to press on to Chain Lakes.

That proved easy, with delightful trail all along the away, until the last annoying climb to the first Chain Lake. Chain Lake had the most prolific supply of firewood I'd ever seen. We felt like we were doing a good deed by burning some of it. We saw no one else that night, though one guy was camped further along the lake.

August 22: The stroll down to the Chiquito Pass trail head was quickly done. There were three other cars parked there, and I once again was delighted that the packer had been kind enough to move our car there. It would have been a miserable experience getting back to where we had started.

We drove out, spent the night in Lee Vining, and headed back to Reno and the airport.

1. There is decent camping everywhere along the hike. There are at least two good spots at Red Devil Lake, along the eastern shore. Lower Ottaway has numerous good sites as well. We camped on the west side, but there was a use trail on the side closest to Red Peak Pass, which I assume led to sites, though we did not check them out.

2. Being a rather slow hiker, I'd planned to go from Lower Ottaway to Moraine Meadows. As mentioned above, Moraine Meadows is not a good place to camp, so aim either for the Merced Lakes or Chain Lakes. If you are going downhill, you'll have no difficulty getting from Lower Ottaway to Chain Lakes in a comfortable day.

3. I do recommend the folk at Minarets Pack Station. In my younger days, I used to sneer at those who took advantage of those mules, but having reached 55, I find that taking the pack off my back the first day does wonders for my morale. And as I mentioned, the packer's gracious offer to move our car saved us lots of trouble. I probably didn't tip enough.

4. It really is an infrequently visited area. Don't count on being able to easily hitchike between trailheads.