Big Five / Little Five Lakes Loop

See the trail? No, I didn't think so. As you can see, the terrain is somewhat complex. Careful examination of the surroundings will keep you on the route. The trail from Lost Canyon can be seen on the lip of the lake bowl to where it ends in rocks.

On a Rocky Path...When There is One

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

The next order of business was to find the route, and basically, none was visible at all. I had to search the area and eventually found a small duck in the complex terrain. The route was not at all obvious, and there seemed to be several to choose from, with no guarantee that any of them were of any use. I tried to stay left when possible, and still there were areas where I was scratching my head wondering just which way to go. Fortunately, something always turned up to indicate a way to go. Sometimes there were places where I actually had to use some rock-climbing moves to get up a crack or shelf. No horse ever used these routes!

Nearing the summit of the pass, I could look down the ridge to Sawtooth Peak.

Once again I wondered about why a National Park would not maintain a trail on a popular and established route such as this one. Certainly it would reduce the damage caused by the numerous trails and routes that threaded the area. The difficulty certainly did not discourage the number of visitors there.