Another Trinity Alps trip report. I'll stick to photos, even though there were a lot of good stories on this trip. Highlights include two black bear, nice flowers, gorgeous mountain scenery, solitude, swimming, thunderstorms, being able to unplug for a few days with my great friend and our dogs, and butterscotch pudding. Thanks to Dean and the other trip reporters for the conditions update. We had fairly aggressive mosquitoes at Granite Lake and some pesky flies up high, but no deal killers. No snow. Trails are in perfect condition. It was hot and the water sources are going to dry up earlier this year. Now is a good time to go.
The itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Drive from Portland (8 hours with stops) to the Swift Creek TH, hike to Granite Lake
Day 2: Hike to Summit Lake via SevenUp Pass and Luella Lake / Diamond Lake
Day 3: Scramble around Summit Lake, tagging Siliago Peak and other unnamed peaks
Day 4: Hike to Swift Creek - Bear Creek confluence via Black Basin and Bear Basin
Day 5: Hike out a couple miles, drive back to Portland
hiking up the Granite Lake trail
nearing the Granite Lake basin
nice little meadow below Granite Lake
yellow lupine-lined trail
Gibson Peak
chocolate lilies
hiking up to SevenUp Pass
view from SevenUp Pass
on the climb to Luella Lake
Luella Lake (and pond)
mom and child at Diamond Lake
action bears
good-bye, bears!
waiting for the bears to come back at Diamond Lake
I swear that pink was the only color they had in my size.
fetch?
Diamond Lake from above
golden sunset at Summit Lake
This sign freaked us out a little.
getting shade anywhere he could find it
This plaque was on top of Siliago Peak. "Maximus Bitemus"
chillaxin' on Siliago Peak
afternoon swim in Summit Lake
a fun little scramble for another view of Summit Lake
steep snowpatches are the best!
waiting for the thunderstorm
heading to Deer Lake
It's barely JUNE!
Black Basin view
heading up the pass to Bear Basin
Darlingtonia californica ("Cobra lily") - eats meat
beautiful meadow in Bear Basin
crazy big incense cedars
sleeping in
still sleeping in
yellow lupine
some sort of azalea?
A wonderful last backpacking trip of the year.
Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Rambling on at Allison Outside
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
To me, reading your trip reports is like seeing the best film ever! I want to see it and feel it. My imagination couldn't have come up with such beautiful images.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing.
- Double Tree
- Posts: 248
- Joined: September 6th, 2012, 10:51 am
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Love that golden sunlight photo. Those kinds of shots are my favorite. Wait, all the photos are amazing.
We've got the same tent!
Kelly
We've got the same tent!
Kelly
- adamschneider
- Posts: 3711
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- Location: SE Portland
- Contact:
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Rhododendron occidentale, western azalea.awildman wrote:some sort of azalea?
- retired jerry
- Posts: 14401
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Weird to see those Darlingtonia up there, I thought they should be at lower elevation.
I think that's on my annual list - early like now when there's still a lot of snow here, or late if it's raining too much here
I think that's on my annual list - early like now when there's still a lot of snow here, or late if it's raining too much here
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
awildman wrote:
sleeping in
Very nice trip, hadn't realized so much of the Trinities was dusty red rock and open meadows with cedar forests. I've only been to the Canyon Creek area, so I should go back! How do you think the Trinities compare to the Marble Mountains in terms of terrain, quality of hiking, crowds, etc?
#pnw #bestlife #bitingflies #favoriteyellowcap #neverdispleased
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Thanks! That's very nice of you to say!UTurn wrote:To me, reading your trip reports is like seeing the best film ever! I want to see it and feel it. My imagination couldn't have come up with such beautiful images.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Adam! I knew someone would know. It smelled delightful.adamschneider wrote:Rhododendron occidentale, western azalea.
I love this little tent! I've had it for four years and it has performed very well in a variety of conditions. It's a little fussy when it comes to getting a perfect pitch, but I think I've mastered it now. It fits one person and one little dog perfectly.Double Tree wrote:We've got the same tent!
More people (in certain areas), better scenery, better off-trail opportunities, higher quality wilderness (no cows in the Trinities; at least the parts I've been in). The Marbles are nice; the Trinities are nicer. The one big drawback with the Trinities is that all of the superstar areas require a long day hike (and some big ups and downs) to connect them. Unless you have a lot of time / energy, you are sort of contained to one or two watersheds.Bosterson wrote:How do you think the Trinities compare to the Marble Mountains in terms of terrain, quality of hiking, crowds, etc?
We had planned to do an off-trail route to visit Lake Anna, Lake Billy Be Damn, and Echo Lake, but the dogs were fried from the sun and rocky tread, so we stayed at Summit Lake and just did some little stuff there instead. It was a wise move on our part, but I would really like to go back and explore the Bee Tree Gap / Stonewall Gap areas.
Rambling on at Allison Outside
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
The Darlingtonia were prolific in the meadows in Bear Basin at around 5700'. Gobs and gobs and gobs of them.retired jerry wrote:Weird to see those Darlingtonia up there, I thought they should be at lower elevation.
I think that's on my annual list - early like now when there's still a lot of snow here, or late if it's raining too much here
I did a version of this loop in September 2010, when the snowpack was 200% of normal. There was more snow in mid-September that year than there was in late May this year. I can imagine it's not always this accessible so early in the season, unless this drought is systemic.
Rambling on at Allison Outside
- arundodonax
- Posts: 1043
- Joined: August 12th, 2010, 8:02 pm
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Very nice, as always.
What kind of tent is that? It looks like spinnaker but I thought they don't make spinnaker anymore.
What kind of tent is that? It looks like spinnaker but I thought they don't make spinnaker anymore.
-
- Posts: 488
- Joined: January 2nd, 2014, 10:45 am
Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4
Nice TR. There have been a number of reports from the Trinities recently, but you've captured some images that look very different from the others I've seen. Gibson Peak looks cool. Great bear pics!