I'm planning to do a Clark Range loop in late July. Standard up to a point--Glacier Point up Illilouette Creek, over Red Peak Pass to Red Devil Lake--but I figure I'll make it more interesting with an off-trail segment over to Lake 9705 (near Adair), Obelisk Lake, and down to the Merced (and out to GP via LYV). The part I'm wondering about is the descent from Obelisk to the Merced.
Here's a map (click through for full size):
![Image](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3223393362_e1b6dd7bed.jpg)
Questions:
1) I've tried to mark the slab and cavalry trail routes (red arrows) based on my reading of that thread, but I'm sure I've got them wrong. Any corrections would be greatly appreciated.
2) Instead of going up, I'll be looking for the route on the descent, and I don't want to get hung up on cliffs. Any good tips? Any landmarks that would help to pin down either route? Anything I should try to avoid?
3) And a wild card: an entirely different route (solid red line). Looks to me like if I traverse west at the right elevation and then descend to below Echo Valley, I can a) descend a less-steep route on which b) I don't have to cross the river at all. Any opinions on this? Better still, any beta?
Thanks in advance,
Tom