"Beyond Ruby Lake" Top 5 Page for this destination Mammoth Lakes Off The Beaten Path Tip by goingsolo

We had to cross what we referred to as the "dreaded rocks". This area, located on the north side of Ruby Lake, stood in the way of our destination, which was Lookout Peak. If you enlarge the picture, you can see us picking our way through. The second photo shows another set of rocks at the base of Ruby Lake. Areas such as these can really slow you down unless you're particularly agile, which I am not, and can make a 4 mile hike take considerably longer than one would expect. Especially when you factor in the altitude at about 11,000 feet at this point.

Climbing down can be slippery and wobbly, as the rocks, appearing sturdy, can topple over after you step on one, sending you sprawling on yet more rocks. My knees are still purple. The worst part of crossing back over this area late in the day was knowing that we'd be doing it again as part of next month's journey- an attempt at Mount Abbot.

The upside of the dreaded rock field is that, once you're through, its a nice and easy walk on a dirt trail free of rocks for two miles to the parking lot at Mosquito Flats.