Click on photo to continue far up where the mountain is tumbling (slowly)
into the valley. Animal trails will take you to clearings like this one.
Unfortunately, for us humans, the natual openings are often too wet to walk
through. I walked around to the left and had some difficulty finding the trail,
but soon enough it was following a small ridgeline to the left (north)
of Columbine Creek. There's good eating tundra ahead. This clearing
is about 3 hours up from Grand Bay. and one hour from where the "trail"
crossed Columbine Creek. Altogether, 4 hours from Shadow Mountain Lake.