Big Five / Little Five Lakes Loop

Looking back down Cliff Creek Canyon below the falls, you can see the rocky area the trail passes through.

"Desperation Woods"

Big 5, Little 5 Lakes Loop and Sawtooth Pass, August 4th to 7th, 2000.

After a somewhat steep climb on the still overgrown and poor rocky trail, I reached a wood I called "Desperation Woods", because I still had not seen anywhere that could of supported a camp, which I would have been looking for had I tried this trail the day before.
After the deep overgrowth and faint track of the woods, I was climbing again in a very rocky, barren and sun drenched convoluted area the trail twisted through.

Looking back down canyon towards "Desperation Woods", which the trail passes through.

After more climbing that allowed views down on "Desperation Woods" and down canyon, the trail finally topped out in another relatively flat large "step" of the canyon. The whole canyon was a series of large stair steps, starting with Spring Lake, the meadow below it and the flat above Pinto Lake, the Pinto Lake step, the waterfalls step, and so on