Red Peak Fork??

[TehipiteTom]

Just to throw out one more option...on the trip with Oldranger and Markskor, I split off from them at Obelisk Lake, dropped down the drainage a ways and crossed the saddle west of point 9482, dropped northwest to about 8700', traversed west to Clark Canyon, dropped down to the flats at the base of the canyon, and caught up with the trail below Echo Valley. So if you do want to visit Adair and Obelisk (both well worth it!) you don't necessarily have to backtrack.

[jdille]

Excellent. Thanks TehipiteTom... I really like that option. I didn't think that I would have the time to visit Adair and Obelisk but this might be doable for me. And the lakes do look worth it from the pictures! I took a brief look at the maps and I think that your route seemed pretty clear from the description. But I'll do a closer look to see if I have any other questions. Thank you again for the recommendations. I am really looking forward to seeing some new trail...

[jdille]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice on the Red Peak Fork. My husband and I headed out on a 5 day loop out of Mono Meadows over Red Peak Pass on July 4th. It was great and we truly enjoyed the trip, seeing only a few people each day and finally getting to see this part of the park.
Specific to this thread, we ended up taking the main outlet drainage from Red Devil Lake because of camp location the night prior (we were trying to stay in the breeze above the mosquitoes and ended up above the lake at 9900 east of Red Devil Lake) and because it seemed to make sense to meander our way until we met with the drainage (despite the recommends to stay northeast). Once we were on the way it seemed pretty natural and the whole way was beautiful and a piece of cake. A great first trip for the season. The last section down to the Merced River was a little steep and I can definitely see WD's point and would avoid it if was wet. There was downed wood and some mosquitoes at the bottom of the canyon that we encountered while finding a good crossing point (pretty easy crossing this year)-- but that wasn't anything to complain about at all. I would love to go back and visit Obelisk and Adair now that I am more familiar with the area. TehipiteTom's suggestion of meeting in Echo Valley seems like a great loop and I'd like to . A great intro to the area and a great early season trip on this low snow year. Thank you!

Working our way down the drainage

Passed this beautiful meadow and managed to avoid the mosquitoes

Many cascades along the route

Downed wood before crossing the Merced

[rightstar76]

Jdille, I am glad to hear you had a fantastic backpacking trip especially the part descending the Red Peak Fork. Thank you for sharing your pictures and your experience. This is what HST is all about.