The Ottoway Lakes Loop
The trail drops nearly to the lake level before beginning the climb to the pass. There are probably more camps out that way.
Leaving Lower Ottoway Lake
The Ottoway Lakes Loop, September 2004Day 3 September 24: Lower Ottoway Lake to Triple Peak Fork trail junction: 8.8m, 1900 feet gain, 2605 feet loss (H->10.8m).
Red Peak Pass day. I awoke just before dawn (long nights will do that to you) and hunkered down to await full light. The cold was not so bad, I lost patience waiting for better light, so I got up and packed up. It has been my recent habit (due to my anxious rabbit speed-demon backpack partner who cannot wait to blow out of camp) to pack up nearly everything before breakfast, unless I had to wait for the bivy-tent to dry out. By the time I finished breakfast, sunlight was hitting camp and I was nearly ready to go. By the time I hit the trail, I was in my regular hiking clothes and the morning was merely cool and warming.
Early morning in my near perfect camp at Lower Ottoway Lake. The bivy-tent is drying and I am packing to leave as the morning sun colors the top ridges of the Clark Range.
I stumped down to the trail and began circling the lake, passing guys busy hauling in fish. It was a spectacular clear sunny morning and I would see only one other person for the next two days. It was still early, and the trail took me in and out of shade as it first snaked around the lake then began to climb towards the pass.
One of my favorite things in the Sierra is working towards a pass, a great payoff for hard work like no other. I learned the secret of doing passes long ago, which is to keep moving and keep a pace within your breathing. Eventually, you get there. I love it.
