24 km. Trailhead at Hwy 11 to Pinto Lake campsite.

The Owen Creek gorge is another work of art by nature. Near the bottom we looked down thru deep narrow channels in the limestone.

We had a long climb up and walked thru more 2013 flood damage. Big slides obliterated the trail at many places. Some reroutes are obvious but it’s slow hiking. Sometimes it’s just better to walk in the river.

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We had lunch at a gorgeous small waterfall.

Owen Pass brought us above treeline and we stayed there for most of the rest of the day.

Michele Pass was next. We could hear thunder booming which isn’t what you want to hear when you are above treeline. We saw 3 bighorn sheep silhouetted at the pass when we climbed up and a whole bunch more on our way down.

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It started sprinkling and the sky looked like it could open up so we put rainclothes on. Luckily it stopped.

Pinto Pass was next. Thunder again greeted us at the top.

We had a long 4 mile downhill to Pinto Lake where we are camped. We even saw a moose on the way down.