Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

This forum is used to share your experiences out on the trails.
User avatar
awildman
Posts: 918
Joined: June 6th, 2009, 5:20 pm
Location: Portland

Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by awildman » June 11th, 2014, 12:49 pm

Another Trinity Alps trip report. :roll: 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

Image
hiking up the Granite Lake trail

Image
nearing the Granite Lake basin

Image
nice little meadow below Granite Lake

Image
yellow lupine-lined trail

Image
Gibson Peak

Image
chocolate lilies

Image
hiking up to SevenUp Pass

Image
view from SevenUp Pass

Image
on the climb to Luella Lake

Image
Luella Lake (and pond)

Image
mom and child at Diamond Lake

Image
action bears

Image
good-bye, bears!

Image
waiting for the bears to come back at Diamond Lake

Image
I swear that pink was the only color they had in my size.

Image
fetch?

Image
Diamond Lake from above

Image
golden sunset at Summit Lake

Image
This sign freaked us out a little.

Image
getting shade anywhere he could find it

Image
This plaque was on top of Siliago Peak. "Maximus Bitemus"

Image
chillaxin' on Siliago Peak

Image
afternoon swim in Summit Lake

Image
a fun little scramble for another view of Summit Lake

Image
steep snowpatches are the best!

Image
waiting for the thunderstorm

Image
heading to Deer Lake

Image
It's barely JUNE!

Image
Black Basin view

Image
heading up the pass to Bear Basin

Image
Darlingtonia californica ("Cobra lily") - eats meat

Image
beautiful meadow in Bear Basin

Image
crazy big incense cedars

Image
sleeping in

Image
still sleeping in

Image
yellow lupine

Image
some sort of azalea?

A wonderful last backpacking trip of the year.
Rambling on at Allison Outside

User avatar
UTurn
Posts: 332
Joined: May 26th, 2013, 7:22 pm

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by UTurn » June 11th, 2014, 1:07 pm

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.

User avatar
Double Tree
Posts: 248
Joined: September 6th, 2012, 10:51 am

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by Double Tree » June 11th, 2014, 3:06 pm

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

User avatar
adamschneider
Posts: 3711
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:02 pm
Location: SE Portland
Contact:

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by adamschneider » June 11th, 2014, 3:16 pm

awildman wrote:some sort of azalea?
Rhododendron occidentale, western azalea.

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14401
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by retired jerry » June 11th, 2014, 3:24 pm

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

User avatar
Bosterson
Posts: 2317
Joined: May 18th, 2009, 3:17 pm
Location: Portland

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by Bosterson » June 11th, 2014, 3:36 pm

awildman wrote: Image
sleeping in
:D

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

User avatar
awildman
Posts: 918
Joined: June 6th, 2009, 5:20 pm
Location: Portland

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by awildman » June 11th, 2014, 4:02 pm

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! That's very nice of you to say!
adamschneider wrote:Rhododendron occidentale, western azalea.
Thanks, Adam! I knew someone would know. It smelled delightful.
Double Tree wrote:We've got the same tent!
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.
Bosterson wrote:How do you think the Trinities compare to the Marble Mountains in terms of terrain, quality of hiking, crowds, etc?
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.

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

User avatar
awildman
Posts: 918
Joined: June 6th, 2009, 5:20 pm
Location: Portland

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by awildman » June 11th, 2014, 4:11 pm

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
The Darlingtonia were prolific in the meadows in Bear Basin at around 5700'. Gobs and gobs and gobs of them.

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

User avatar
arundodonax
Posts: 1043
Joined: August 12th, 2010, 8:02 pm

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by arundodonax » June 11th, 2014, 4:21 pm

Very nice, as always.

What kind of tent is that? It looks like spinnaker but I thought they don't make spinnaker anymore.

olderthanIusedtobe
Posts: 488
Joined: January 2nd, 2014, 10:45 am

Re: Trinity Alps - Four Lakes Loop: 5/30-6/4

Post by olderthanIusedtobe » June 11th, 2014, 6:13 pm

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!

Post Reply