Wolverine shot was lucky. But photo, from pure photography perspective, is quite poor. I had SLR around my neck (otherwise I'd not have time to get it), but had only my wide landscape lens & could not zoom enough. This was already at 105mm, max focal length & it needed at least 300. Then it was already too dark for focused handheld shot, 1/30 sec exposure. It is quite blury at 100%





Still I can't complain, how often do you get to see not one but group of wolverines in the wild. Magic moment

That is a great shot. Photographic opportunities can come unexpectedly. If your lens had vibration reduction (VR), you would have nailed that shot perfectly in focus.

Lens has Image Stabilization feature (IS in Canon world, same as VR in Nikon world). I probably had it turned off though; with exposures 1/100 or above I was shooting all day IS is not needed & actually does some harm. This was so sudden & I just had time to point and shoot. At least I exposed for foreground which was much darker than horizon, but this is where he was. I'd have simply bumped ISO if there was more time.



Landscapes are easy to shoot. They sit still and wait all day Wildlife is tough. This is why pros go to Africa on a safari with all kind of high-end gear & sit in jeeps all day. But when you backpack the Rockies it is almost entirely matter of luck. I am always amazed by quality of these grizzly bear shots lobo posts here. Like they wait for him.

Thanks for the photos zeljkok and others, it helped me plan my recent trip (July 17-21) to Cataract & Cline Pass and into Afternoon Lakes.

I'm happy to announce that there is definitely a straightforward descent into the Afternoon Lakes Plateau from the ridge of Mt. Willis. Two other parties were at the ridge at the same time as I, and also were uncertain of the descent route. I dropped my pack to scout around for a route, then traversed left to a slightly grassy area that looked less steep. There I saw a small cairn (and added to it), and saw the route through the gap in the cliffband. Two days later when I ascended back to the ridge I took some photos of the route.

I cannot seem to embed photos in with the text, so I will attach as thumbnails and label them:

1. Top of the ascent route to ridge of Mt. Willis, from Cline Pass side. I found the medium-sized boulders just to the left of the main route to be more stable. It got steep near the top, and I felt more comfortable traversing directly to the col.

2. At the col on ridge of Mt. Willis. Arrows pointing to a cairn indicating the descent route, and my camp spot at the crest of the broad plateau ridge.

3. Camp at crest of plateau. I spent two nights here and explored the vast plateau and lakes.

4, 5, 6, 7: Photos from below, showing the descent route through the gap in the cliff band. It is steep and loose, use caution, but otherwise non-technical.

8,9: On my return day, I was so impressed with the plateau and lakes that I built a double cairn-gate to make it clear to others the descent route into the plateau.

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That's a great post Gstrail, and thank you very much for it. Great camp spot btw by that rock wall; too bad for the haze. Its great to know descent is non-technical & now there is even rock gate to point you in right direction. I'll be back for sure. Cheers!