Читать книгу Trinity Alps & Vicinity: Including Whiskeytown, Russian Wilderness, and Castle Crags Areas. A Hiking and Backpacking Guide онлайн

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Once you reach the crest of Sawtooth Ridge, Big Caribou Lake and the entire length of trail down to the lake is clearly visible, zigzagging down the steep slope to the south end of Caribou Lake and then following gentler terrain through the open granite basin past Lower Caribou and Snowslide Lakes. Above the far end of the basin, you have the option to follow the longer but easier new trail around the northwest ridge of Caribou Mountain, or the shorter but steeper old trail directly over the ridge. The two trails reconnect at Caribou Meadows and then long-legged switchbacks, followed by a long traverse, and a shorter set of switchbacks lead to the crossing of South Fork Salmon River and the Big Flat Trailhead. More complete directions from Sawtooth Ridge to Big Caribou Lake and the Big Flat Trailhead can be found in reverse in ssss1.

A half mile above Portuguese Camp, the Stuart Fork Trail passes a few fair campsites and draws near the tiny river for the last time before climbing the north side of the canyon on the way to lovely Emerald Lake. The outlet cascades over ledges below to the south. Halfway along a level stretch of trail, lined with lush foliage and wildflowers, another spring-fed rivulet tumbles down a ledge and across the trail. As you steeply ascend the final quarter mile of trail to the top of a dike, the rock underfoot transitions from metamorphic to granite. The canyon walls on both sides of Emerald Lake are also granite, showing a sharp line of demarcation where the red, metamorphic strata of Sawtooth Ridge begins. You pass a terribly overused campsite in a small grove of firs at the north end of the rock dike, and then dip down almost to the lake before climbing above the north shore on the way toward Sapphire Lake.