Trail junction at Valentine Lake. In addition to the marked and mapped trails, older stock (sheep-herder?) trails criss-cross the range. One such trail descends the shallow valley above Valentine Lake; I followed another from Black Joe Lake along the 10,400' contour to the Jackass Pass trail. In the trail above Valentine Lake I found chips of agate and jasper, geologically out of place, which must have been dropped years ago by an earlier trail user. Who, and when - mysteries that contribute to the appeal of the mountains.

<>