Page 3: Lakeview Ridge

Some bright fall foliage near Shaw Creek

And so we started off for an adventuresome day three. In a cup on the north side of Jim Peak (7033’) are the headwaters of Shaw Creek. We stopped for our first ‘bath’ which basically consisted of splashing frigid water from the stream onto our dusty, stinking bodies. We then moved on, climbing up the 7055’ Devil's Backbone (not to be confused with the Devil’s Staircase). up to Lakeview Ridge

High on Lakeview Ridge

I had expected the mountains would be a riot of fall colors, being September, and maybe even there would be a little dusting of snow here and there. But there was very little color – only in isolated patches – and just tiny remnants of dirty snow from the previous winter. In a good way, I guess I was disappointed.

This country is truly beautiful. While, it's not the same beauty of the Enchantments and the Lost World Plateau, it has a different, wild – yet serene – beauty of its own. And it’s on a bigger scale. The views are immense!

The trail itself is pretty mild. I read somewhere that the PCT has a requirement of no more than a 10% grade, so you get lots of ups and downs but it is very general steepness.

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