Oregon Hikers

I took a few days down to Trinity Alps

Granite Creek Pass: Quite a few people at the pass there. I stayed more than 6 feet away from them but they appeared to not be distancing from each other

No snow. Easy to maintain distance from people. Warm. Good time to go.

402 miles to Swift Creek Trailhead, 399 miles to the Coffee Creek Trailhead, so I had to stop a couple times for gas. Stopped at the Trinity Center store for ice - masks required, few other people.

I'd love to hear more about your trip Jerry, I'm planning to spend a week down there in August to climb things and swim in lakes. Looking forward to my first visit! Not entirely sure where I want to hike yet, I'm waiting for my map to arrive in the mail.

More pictures please. This looks like my kinda place.

thursday - drive to Scott Mountain Campground 360 miles. PCT crosses highway 3 there. The one thing I've noticed thru hikers really like is fruit like a banana or orange. Or soda. Or beer. Free, primitive campground. Lots of nearby spots to camp if campground is full.

friday - Get permit from Coffee Creek Ranger Station. Trinity Center - last store and cell phone. Swift Creek Trailhead. Granite Lake, 2000 feet elevation gain, 5 miles

above Granite Lake: Saturday - Granite Lake Pass, down to Deer Creek, over Deer Creek Pass, camped a mile further in Siligo Basin, 3000 feet elevation gain, 7 miles

Sunday - back, Siligo Loop, Deer Creek Camp, 700 feet elevation gain, 7 miles

From Deer Creek pass, Deer Lake, beginning of the Siligo Loop trail Monday - up to Black Basin, Seven up Trail, Granite Lake, 2000 feet elevation gain, 6 miles

Tuesday - back to Scott Mountain, 5 miles

Wednesday - back home

You can see I didn't get a lot of distance in, but I did get some elevation gain. I thought it was hot, like 80 F. People east of Cascades might call me a wienie. August should be hot.

as you can see from those couple pictures, there is a lot of granite to walk through, favorite of mine

I don't know of any climbing. I know there's some at Castle Crag. With all the granite at Trinity Alps there must be climbing somewhere

Another trip would be up Coffee Creek road, Caribou Lake,... - about the same distance from Portland

Another place to camp would be Mt Ashland campground, a few miles west of I-5

couple more pictures

looking up Granite Creek Trail towards Granite Creek Pass: looking down the opposite direction: first lake in the siligo loop: looking down at the second lake in the siligo loop: black basin: seven up trail:

Looks like a nice trip. I haven't been down in that area for years. We did a camping trip in the Marble Mountains in 2004.

How are the forests and fire damage looking down there? These days I pretty much just assume that 80% of the trees are either burned to a crisp or killed by disease in that part of California.

That looks very nice, Jerry. I would assume with those conditions it's late July/August already, not late June!! Maybe the Trinities melt out earlier than other places? I've only been there at the very very end of September, years ago.

I didn't notice any burned areas

There are some major areas closer to Redding. I remember driving on I-5 a few years ago and it went through a forest fire, sort of spotty though, not huge.

Trinity Alps melts out a month or so earlier than up here. I try to get down there each spring. Also, in October or November it can be good after it gets stormy here. Sometimes the jet stream will point up here and it'll be nice there, or vice versa.

Hey, I was at Scott Mountain Campground on Sunday night. What a great little spot: no fee, non-stinky toilets, and it's adjacent to a Darlingtonia fen. Only one other site was occupied when I was there.

yeah, weird to just randomly walk around and see Darlingtonia

there are also Darlingtonia in Black Basin