The hike to Jackass Pass was under three miles (maybe 2.7 miles) with roughly 1100 feet elevation gain. Once we reached the Jackass Pass trail on the north side of Big Sandy Lake, we began to start our climb in earnest. We climbed up to North Lake via a series of switchbacks and through some sections of slabs and boulders. The clear, sunny day was good for spotting small mammals. We saw many marmots sunning themselves, pikas scurrying around the boulder fields, and chipmunks and squirrels gnawing on pine cones.