So, the otters. I actually planned my trip around the otters. In 2011, I was disappointed to find out I was too early for them. See, when the trout start to run in Trout Lake, a family of otters move in to feed on a very ample supply of easy to catch (swimming upstream against the current kind of makes you vulnerable to predation) fish.
Trout Lake is short but steep climb. The trail to the lake is only a half mile, but it's all switchbacks. It's a popular hike even when the trout aren't running, lots of anglers haul their gear up there to fish. The lake itself used to be a trout hatchery, from back in the days when the park service stocked the streams and lakes of the park with non-natives. I got there by 8:30am and the lot was already jammed. I barely was able to get a spot next to the lot on the shoulder.
There were quite a few other photographers, including some that were hauling up the big gun lenses. Me, I stuck with the Bigma (Sigma 50-500mm) that I rented.
As soon as I got to the lake, I spotted an otter swimming. I took a grab shot of her getting out of the water.
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| Momma otter heading back to her den |
There was a photographer over by the bank where I saw her, wrestling a big gun of a lens and tripod around on the river banks. He commented that they had been out feeding and playing, but it seemed like they had gone into the den to sleep. He said they'd probably be in there for a few hours.
I went up a little bit and met a few other folks, an older couple and a British lady, along with another photographer with a tripod and mid-range telephoto, probably 100-300mm. The older couple were heading to go back down when they spotted momma otter. Her den was right below the trail, hard to see with the trees. You literally would stand right on top of her. She was rolling around before settling down with her head sticking out of the den. Next to impossible to get a good shot, not that it stopped me from trying.
I settled down on the lake's bank, right in front of a grassy log. The other photographer was also staked out there, and we were joined by the British lady. The photographer was from south of Jackson. When I said I was from Chicago, he told me he only drove through there once, going to Lansing, MI, and the traffic was the most insane he'd ever seen in his life. I said that sounded about right.
He pointed out the two male otters sunning on a log across the lake, and commented that he was thinking about going over there, but figured they'd be gone by the time he walked over. While we were watching, the two got up and ran up the bank onto the trail. They then ran back down and vanished into the water.
The British lady decided to walk to the other side of the lake. The other photographer soon decided to go across to the stream inlet, to see if the two males might show up to fish. I decided to hold my ground on my current spot.
While waiting, I took a few grab shots of the scenery. Really not the worst place to have to wait for otters to show up.
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| Trout Lake scenery |
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| Grassy Log |
I was joined about a half hour later by a couple from Seattle. We were chatting a bit when a large group came down the trail and spotted Momma rolling around outside her den. Within the next five minutes, the water rippled, and here they came.
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| Otters! |
The momma otter had three pups. They got on the grassy log directly in front of us, rolling and playing and knocking each other into the water.
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| Otter pup |
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| "Got food, Mom?" |
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| Otter Family |
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| Otter pup kisses for momma! |
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| "Why are there people staring at us, Mom?" |
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| Otter pup playing with some grass |
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| Momma otter and one of the pups |
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| Otter pups grooming |
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| Diving into the lake |
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| Momma with one of the pups |
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| Aren't they adorable? |
Within five minutes of showing up, momma headed down along the lake shore, with the pups following.
Those five minutes with the otters were well worth the hour and a half or so I waited for them to come out of the den!
Rather than head back, I decided to head to the stream inlet to check out the running trout. I was sort of hoping Momma and her babies, or perhaps one of the males, would show up over there and snag a fish. But no otters showed. That said, the trout themselves were pretty engrossing. Lots of them were huge huge fish, and they were everywhere, either splashing and flipping as they tried to swim up against the rapid current of the stream, or holding still, working on holding their ground before trying another burst of energy to make some more ground upstream. This may have been the first time I've ever wished I had a polarizer to make it easier to shoot them through the water and reflections.
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| Cutthroat Trout |
From there I headed back down, pretty happy with the results and the shots I had gotten.
