Big Five / Little Five Lakes Loop

Cliff Creek continues to impress as it tumbles down the glacial "U" of Cliff Creek Canyon. The peak in unnamed.

Above Treeline

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

Now the trail was in the open and it was warming up, but the higher I went the cooler it was to offset the hot hiking. This trail segment and pass has one of the largest switchback counts I have seen, rivaling and exceeding those along the John Muir Trail. In a way, this is good because the trail for the most part is very well graded, and I knew when it was not when I slowed to a crawl to maintain breathing. But being well graded meant the trail was in no hurry to get to the top, trading distance for altitude.