Backpacking in the Trinity Alps of Northern California

     My friend Sarah and I didn't get started on the Long Canyon Trail in the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area until 2:30 in the afternoon, but we were only hiking 5 1/2 miles and figured that even with full packs for this seven-day backpacking trip, we would have plenty of time to get to our proposed campsite at Deer Lake.

    Oh, how wrong we were! Long Canyon kicked our butts! It was a relentless uphill trail for three and a half miles and steep, steep, steep for the last mile and a half. Late as it was getting, I called for a rest two or three times in that last climb. On the last rest stop, I saw my calf muscles twitching with tiny movements, like a sparkler under the skin. 

    Nonetheless, when we rounded the pass and started downslope to Deer Lake, I wasn't too tired for the majestic sunset over the mountains and lake.

Me, on the way to Deer Lake

    I was, however, too tired to eat. As soon as the tent was up, I crawled in and fell asleep,

    The next morning I was as enthusiastic and ready as ever. The pattern had been set—steep!—but my muscles never threatened to quit on me again. We made some awesome ascents and hiked through gorgeous county—peaks as sharp and rugged as they come (the Sawtooth Ridge was especially impressive)

meadows rich with autumn colors

creekside campsites, more glorious sunsets seen from rocks we climbed for the sight (a "tequila rock" as the camper we met at Horseshoe Lake called it), 

and beautiful green lakes tucked under peaks, perfect for swimming.

At Summit Lake, after a swim

    Dragonflies by the score. Tadpoles crowding the water's edge at Luella Lake. Tiny frogs leaping ahead of us at Bear Creek, so many it was hard not to step on them. A long entertaining show of fish jumping for flies at Summit Lake. Hawks. Darlingtonia. A ferocious windstorm at Summit Lake that had us sleeping fitfully, and, otherwise, perfect weather. One hardship was that I had somehow left my hat at home, but, as luck would have it, at the second campsite some previous camper had left a deck of cards and a hat sitting on a stump. I didn't take the cards, but the hat was a godsend.

In my "borrowed" hat

    Of course, all the wonders of the trail and the mountains are only the augmentation of good companionship. Sarah lives in Pennsylvania, where the hiking is steep but nothing like in the Trinity Alps (as for that, I live in the Applegate, where the trails are often steep but nothing like the Trinity Alps). She loved the steep granite landscapes, the beautiful lakes and streams (did I mention that the meadows were mostly still fed by lovely gurgling meadow streams?), the strenuous demands of the trail—the hardest hiking she had ever done, she said—the bright cold water for dips in creeks and lakes, the autumnal meadows, the big trees. 

                                                        photo by Diana Coogle

Half my age and strong and fit for the trail,

she never complained that I was slow on the trail or snored in the tent or cramped her style. In fact, our styles, like our tempers, meshed well. Nor did she seem to mind that I depended on her greatly superior map-reading skills. It was she who kept us on route (and not her fault when we missed a trail turn-off and hiked one and a half extra miles on what was already our longest day with one of our steepest ascents), and it was she who kept the stats. For anyone interested, I've listed them below, along with our route, after I sign off with a selfie of two very happy Trinity Alps hikers.

(All photos by Sarah Bay Nawa unless otherwise noted.)
 

Day 1—Long Canyon TH to Deer Lake (no other campers)

    5.5 miles

Day 2—Deer Lake to camp on the confluence of Bear Creek and Swift Creek (no other campers)

    8 miles

Day 3—Swift Creek to Ward Lake (no other campers)

    5.8 miles

Day 4—Ward Lake to Horseshoe Lake (one other camper)

    1.5 miles

Day 5—Horseshoe Lake to Deer Creek Camp (no other campers)

    Up Mumford Pass (!)

    9.9 miles

Day 6—Deer Creek Camp to Summit Lake (3 other tents of 2 people each)

    4.5 miles

Day 7—Summit Lake to Long Canyon TH (2 sets of 2 hikers at Deer Creek Pass)

    6.3 miles

Total elevation gain: 10,130 feet

Totall milage: 41.7

Passes climbed: 

    Bee Tree Gap—7400 feet

    Deer Creek Pass—7485 feet

    Black Basin Pass—7150 feet

    Mumford Pass—7200 feet
    Siligo Pass—7500 feet

Four lakes, 9 swims

Seven glorious days