Don?t forget about California?s magnificent Trinity Alps

The expression is an old one, trite but true ? if you don?t like the weather in the Trinity Alps, wait five minutes and it will change.

Northern California?s most unpredictable and unappreciated wilderness is all snow-capped granite peaks, wildflower-choked mountain meadows and gushing waterfalls fed by spring snowmelt. It is a breathtaking place. But it is also fickle.

On the first day of a four-day trek earlier this summer, we were greeted by sunshine and temperatures soaring toward 90 degrees; on day two it rained so relentlessly that we never even left our tent; on day three we were baited into a day hike by early morning sunshine only to walk straight into a wall of mid-afternoon snow flurries; and on day four we packed up our gear in temperatures that plunged toward freezing before the sun eventually emerged and presented us with a glorious day for hiking.

A little bit of everything, all wrapped up in a four-day hike.

Most people have never heard of the Trinity Alps Wilderness, but tucked away in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, in the Klamath mountains between Redding and Eureka, is a beautiful but seldom-used sliver of unspoiled backcountry. In some respects, the Trinity Alps are every bit as spectacular as their more popular California cousins ? Yosemite, Redwood, Joshua Tree ? but the trails here remain relatively uncrowded, the low overall elevation makes for good early season hiking conditions, and it?s less than a six-hour drive from Eugene.

There are numerous entry points to the Trinity Alps? vast backcountry and there are innumerable sights to behold within. It?s worth mentioning that the ranger station in Weaverville ? located on Main Street near the intersection of highways 299 and 3 ? is an invaluable resource for trip planning, with friendly staff who are both knowledgeable and helpful. They can give you updated trail conditions and help plan a trip that packs the most scenery into the time you have available.

My wife and I hiked the Trinity Alps in early June when most of Oregon?s high-elevation trails were still buried under spring snowdrifts, but the conditions in Northern California were considerably more accommodating, with clear trails and what initially promised to be warm, sunny weather. Our chosen point of entry was the Swift Creek Trailhead ? located at the end of Forest Service Road 36N25, about 30 miles north of Weaverville and six miles off Highway 3 ? where we set off on a four-day hike that would tour the area?s granite mountain peaks, deserted subalpine lakes and numerous wildflower meadows.

From the trailhead, which can be crowded in summer, the trail drops about 400 feet before leveling out and paralleling Swift Creek. After a little more than a mile, the trail reaches a junction with the Granite Lake Trail, which climbs 4.1 miles to Granite Lake, a popular day-hiking destination. Stay right at the junction and begin a long, slow climb toward Parker Meadow, the first of several sprawling alpine wildflower meadows. The trail features an easy crossing at Steer Creek, followed by a slightly more difficult crossing at Parker Creek, where there are remnants from a Forest Service bridge built in 1968. The bridge isn?t there anymore, but a series of rocks and downed logs make the route passable.

Just past the stream crossing there is a four-way trail junction ? stay right on the Swift Creek Trail, following signs to Parker Meadow and Fosters Cabin. As you near the four-mile mark, the trail levels out along Swift Creek and opens into Parker Meadow, a lush expanse of mountain grass and colorful wildflowers, which bloom extravagantly all summer long. The trail hugs the edge of the meadow for about another mile until you reach Fosters Cabin, originally built in the ?40s but restored by the Forest Service in 1989, where you can ditch your pack for a mid-afternoon break or call it quits altogether, opting to sleep in the rustic cabin or pitch a tent in the flat meadows nearby.

Beyond the cabin, the trail strolls along for three easy miles through more wildflower-infested mountain meadows, with craggy peaks occasionally poking up above the treeline. It?s easy walking and it?s amazing scenery, so be sure to soak it up as you go. There?s one somewhat tricky crossing at Landers Creek, solved by bushwhacking a short distance upstream, before reaching a junction with the Landers Lake Trail. There are several good camp sites near the trail junction, all with decent water access at Landers Creek, and the 2.3-mile climb to scenic Landers Lake is well worth doing as a dayhike, so this makes a good place to stop for the day.

If the weather cooperates, leave your gear at camp and carry lunch up to Landers Lake, a rocky tarn perched in the mountains above Mumford Meadow. From the camp site, cross the boggy meadow on a sometimes indistinct trail (there are a few scattered rock cairns to help you find your way), then begin a series of steep switchbacks once you reach the edge of the woods. A half-mile later, stay right at the junction with Sunrise Creek Trail and continue climbing until you reach a large meadow, filled with summer wildflowers and shallow ponds of spring meltwater. The trail skirts the edge of the meadow, then begins another tough climb, ascending steeply for about a mile to the banks of Landers Lake, located in a rocky granite basin at 7,100 feet.

The lake makes a great picnic spot, especially if you come in early summer and chill a bottle of Oregon Pinot Gris in the lake?s icy waters. If you visit in late summer or on a particularly hot day, the shallow lake makes an equally great swimming hole. Either way, it?s well worth the grueling climb, and hikers with extra energy can tackle the relatively easy scramble to the top of nearby Red Rock Mountain, which rises to 7,850 feet on the west side of the lake.

Back down in Mumford Meadow, the Swift Creek Trail continues west through a series of pleasant alpine clearings, then turns to the southwest as it begins the climb to the creek?s headwaters at Horseshoe Lake. Around mile 7.5, the trail begins ascending by a series of steep, rocky switchbacks, climbing about 1,000 feet in half a mile to the junction with Horseshoe and Ward trails. The former leads to Horseshoe Lake via a scrambly half-mile trail, while the latter leads to Ward Lake by a steadily uphill mile-long trail.

Both lakes are definitely worth seeing. Horseshoe Lake is formed around a giant boulder of a rock, and a quick scramble to the top affords magnificent views of the lake and the surrounding mountains ? 7,300-foot Mumford Peak rising to the east, and 7,600-foot Tri-Forest Peak rising to the west. Ward Lake is slightly smaller but similarly shaped, wrapped around a protrusion of rock and affording views of 7,300-foot Snowslide Peak and 8,000-foot Black Mountain. You could spend a good chunk of the day lounging on the banks of either lake.

The route back down can either be a simple retrace of your footsteps to the parking lot, or a more adventurous route on the area?s seemingly limitless intersecting trail system ? there are dayhike options to Bear Basin, Granite Lake, Sunrise Creek, Union Creek or Poison Canyon. With more than 100 mountain lakes and half a million acres of wilderness, the options are infinite.

And if your feet are hurting or you simply feel the lure of civilization drawing you back, don?t forget that California?s northernmost In-N-Out Burger is right off the interstate in Redding. Nothing washes away the taste of four days of trail food like a double-double, animal style.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rgoutdoors/~3/nVO-CLM4Hes/trail-lake-trinity-alps-creek.html.csp

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