Rush Creek Forks 9640 ft - Island Pass 11205 ft - Trinity Lakes 9180 ft ...11.3 miles
day 5 : 4 July 2003
  
  lush valley  
  the abundance of vegetation that follows Rush Creek shows how wet and fertile the valley is  
  
  
   
  climb to island  
  a gradual climb towards Island Pass  
  
  
   
  island pass  
  it's hard to tell which is the highest point of Island Pass, but plentiful are the commanding views of the dark Ritter Range with Banner Peak dominating  
  
  
   
  lakeview  
  just below Island Pass is a small picturesque lake with the beautiful Ritter Range as background  
  
  
   
  view to banner  
  This section of the JMT is definately one of the most beautiful... with many lakelets and trees, almost touching the high razor-edged monoliths, contrasted by the glaciers and snow fields on their steep slopes  
  
  
   
  thousand island lake  
  dotted with dozens of rocky islets, the bluish waters of the Thousand Island Lake with Banner Peak as a background makes this place most photogenic  
  [ click on the above image for a panoramic view ]  
  
  
   
  reading  
  Mike enjoying his rest at this most picturesque place with a book !  
  
  
   
  bridge  
  crossing the outlet of the Thousand Island Lake  
  
  
   
  emerald lake  
  just before the outlet of Thousand Island Lake, the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and JMT splits from each other; the trail then climbs to past pretty Emerald Lake  
  
  
   
  ruby lake  
  the trail then passes another beautiful lake.... the dark waters of Ruby Lake contrasts with the snow slopes at it's southern banks  
  
  
   
  garnet lake  
  windy Garnet Lake is also dotted with many tiny rocky islets, though much less than the Thousand Island Lake  
  
  
   
  long way to go  
  the area around Shadow Creek is well forested with much of the trail under shade  
  
  
   
  shadow lake  
  a beautiful lake but now closed to camping to allow regeneration of the surrounding vegetation. The trail beyond Shadow Lake climbs up a steep 656 foot ridge before descending to Rosalie Lake. This section of the JMT passing Rosalie and Gladys Lakes towards Trinity Lakes is well shaded under good forest cover but the ground is also very wet and marshy  
  
  
   
  chef leo  
  camping by Trinity Lakes was an unpleasant experience as the wet marshy environment that characterizes this region is home to millions of mosquitoes; even our campfire and mosquito repellents didn't help much