Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

This is the 3rd and final post from my  backpacking trip into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness last August.  Here's the report on the  first two days   and here's the 2nd report, on days 3 and 4. Day 5: Oly Lake to Rough Lake This day started with another beautiful sunrise.  For those of you who wonder, this is a big part of why I haul a heavy load into the mountains and sleep on the ground--because it's darned hard to see sunrise at a remote lake on a dayhike. Early light reflected in Oly Lake. Sunrise reflections in Oly Lake. Our route leads up that cleft in the rocks across the lake. It was a relief to wake to calm winds and mostly clear skies, because we'd had a pretty impressive storm at bedtime the night before. Little did we know, that was just the warm-up.    We had a short hike before us, though we knew it wouldn't be fast, so we didn't leave camp until 8:15. We were heading up the creek and over the mountain (back across the divide anyway)...

Last weekend I posted photos from the first two days of a backpack trip into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Today we're doing a couple more days, and next week I'll finish the trip. Day 3: Jordan Lake to Ouzel Lake It was a chilly morning--I was up before sunrise for photography, and the plants down by the lake (the coldest spot) were frosted. It was worth it. Sunrise reflected in Jordan Lake. Sunrise reflections at Jordan Lake. Despite the chill, we were on the trail before 8 a.m., for a day that would range from easy walking on excellent trail to tedious route-finding through a giant talus field.  The first part, over a small rise to Otter Lake, was easy, and we were still enjoying the early light. A mountain tarn with some fun clouds, just above Jordan Lake. At Otter Lake the trail is a bit hit-and-miss as you walk alongside the lake (I think the official trail ends at the east end of the lake, where we started). We had to pick our way around the lake, then around the s...