Granite Lake - Seven up Pass - Trinity Alps Backpacking
I thought that I knew every national park in California, that I have explored every mountain range, and yet here I was, staring with disbelief at my discovery of a completely new to me mountain range: Trinity Alps. The pictures looked absolutely incredible, and moreover, it actually looked like a wilderness, not a well-worn-out by millions of footsteps national park! Trying not to get too excited, I set out to search for backpacking routes - and there were plenty of very reasonable weekend backpacking hikes! Very used at this point to lottery systems and a-couple-of-months-in-advance reservations, I was trying to find how to make a reservation online and which trails were completely booked - and I couldn't! I timidly called the ranger station: "Oh, just drive up to the ranger station and fill out the wilderness permit" - "By what time do I need to arrive so that there are still places available?" - "Oh, any time". It all seemed too good to be true, but we decided to give it a try anyways.
That's how we set out on our backpacking route of Granite Lake - Seven up Pass in the Trinity Alps:
We have decided to do the loop counter-clockwise: sleeping in Bear Valley our first night, doing the Four Lakes Loop on our second day, stopping at Lillouette Lake on our second night, and then coming out of the valley all the way to the car on our third night. The ranger wasn't very enthusiastic about the plan: "Just see how you feel once you reach the pass", - cautioned he. Characteristically, later on I didn't not remember his words at all and N remembered that the ranger has repeated this phrase 3 times. "There are 15 parties at the Granite Lake, and you are the 3rd party only to go to Bear Valley today", - at least he was approving of something of my plan...
The hike to Bear Valley was uneventful for the most part, except for once we reached the meadows. With it being early September already, the meadow was boasting an amazing yellow color.
I love the feeling of peacefulness and prosperity that such fields evoke in me:
We were able to find a great camping spot, which, unfortunately, was a little ways off from the river. As I had to scramble down the river bank the next day to get water, I caught myself thinking:"If I lived here, I would have built the stairs for easier access". And yet, there were many deer and bear droppings around me indicating that the other inhabitants were adjusting to the conditions. Are we the only mammals who actively adjust our surroundings to fit us rather than conform to them?
As I was gazing at the stars in the middle of the night, I found myself very anxious that I was alone in this large valley, and I quickly found myself longing for the company of people. It was a really funny realization since we have just driven 5 hours and walked another 5 to get away from people, and yet the instincts, ingrained by thousands of years of survival, kicked in and showed just how communal and social we really are.
"You know", - said I to N the next morning as we were crossing the Bear Valley, - "it just occurred to me that the word bear in Bear Valley might actually be meaningful" - "That's the first thing I thought of when I heard the name", - calmly observed N. Ignorance is really a bliss sometimes.
But we were already approaching the mountain range on the other side of the valley, with no sightings of the bears. Just as the ranger said - the bears were really not interested in us.
Fall is approaching way too quickly. I want another couple of months of the hiking season!
A look back at the Bear Valley, down below:
And we are off, climbing higher and higher:
Until we see Mt Shasta in all of its glory:
On the other side of the pass, we saw the Black Basin for the first time:
I just couldn't take my eyes off this mountain. I wonder if the mountains know they are prettier than others around it?
It's a special treat for me whenever I get to do ridge walks.
So here we were, at the pass, and in order to reach the Four Lakes loop, we needed to go down into this valley before us and then climb up again on the other side:
Finally reaching this lake, lake Lillouette, in the evening. Just as the ranger hinted, we didn't have the stamina for it, so we just took the picture of the lake and decided to skip the loop:
Instead, we "settled" for a lunch in a comfy corner of the Seven Up Pass. "N, I feel like the richest person in the world right now! I feel so privileged to be here, and enjoy all this, and I just don't want it to end!"
After the peacefulness of being alone for an entire day, Granite Lake was a huge disappointment. There were 10 tents that we saw just from the trail, and there were many people splashing in the lake. We didn't feel it was worth it to spend another night in the tent at freezing temperature, so we did a final push and headed back to the car.
Note that even though the trail description says the loop is 14 miles, it ended up being closer to 18 miles for us. For a comfortable pace, it's really a 3-day hike. "Please, come back here during the week, especially not on a long weekend - there is nobody here!" - pleaded the ranger. And so we must, some day.
That's how we set out on our backpacking route of Granite Lake - Seven up Pass in the Trinity Alps:
We have decided to do the loop counter-clockwise: sleeping in Bear Valley our first night, doing the Four Lakes Loop on our second day, stopping at Lillouette Lake on our second night, and then coming out of the valley all the way to the car on our third night. The ranger wasn't very enthusiastic about the plan: "Just see how you feel once you reach the pass", - cautioned he. Characteristically, later on I didn't not remember his words at all and N remembered that the ranger has repeated this phrase 3 times. "There are 15 parties at the Granite Lake, and you are the 3rd party only to go to Bear Valley today", - at least he was approving of something of my plan...
The hike to Bear Valley was uneventful for the most part, except for once we reached the meadows. With it being early September already, the meadow was boasting an amazing yellow color.
I love the feeling of peacefulness and prosperity that such fields evoke in me:
We were able to find a great camping spot, which, unfortunately, was a little ways off from the river. As I had to scramble down the river bank the next day to get water, I caught myself thinking:"If I lived here, I would have built the stairs for easier access". And yet, there were many deer and bear droppings around me indicating that the other inhabitants were adjusting to the conditions. Are we the only mammals who actively adjust our surroundings to fit us rather than conform to them?
As I was gazing at the stars in the middle of the night, I found myself very anxious that I was alone in this large valley, and I quickly found myself longing for the company of people. It was a really funny realization since we have just driven 5 hours and walked another 5 to get away from people, and yet the instincts, ingrained by thousands of years of survival, kicked in and showed just how communal and social we really are.
"You know", - said I to N the next morning as we were crossing the Bear Valley, - "it just occurred to me that the word bear in Bear Valley might actually be meaningful" - "That's the first thing I thought of when I heard the name", - calmly observed N. Ignorance is really a bliss sometimes.
But we were already approaching the mountain range on the other side of the valley, with no sightings of the bears. Just as the ranger said - the bears were really not interested in us.
Fall is approaching way too quickly. I want another couple of months of the hiking season!
A look back at the Bear Valley, down below:
And we are off, climbing higher and higher:
Until we see Mt Shasta in all of its glory:
On the other side of the pass, we saw the Black Basin for the first time:
I just couldn't take my eyes off this mountain. I wonder if the mountains know they are prettier than others around it?
It's a special treat for me whenever I get to do ridge walks.
So here we were, at the pass, and in order to reach the Four Lakes loop, we needed to go down into this valley before us and then climb up again on the other side:
Finally reaching this lake, lake Lillouette, in the evening. Just as the ranger hinted, we didn't have the stamina for it, so we just took the picture of the lake and decided to skip the loop:
Instead, we "settled" for a lunch in a comfy corner of the Seven Up Pass. "N, I feel like the richest person in the world right now! I feel so privileged to be here, and enjoy all this, and I just don't want it to end!"
After the peacefulness of being alone for an entire day, Granite Lake was a huge disappointment. There were 10 tents that we saw just from the trail, and there were many people splashing in the lake. We didn't feel it was worth it to spend another night in the tent at freezing temperature, so we did a final push and headed back to the car.
Note that even though the trail description says the loop is 14 miles, it ended up being closer to 18 miles for us. For a comfortable pace, it's really a 3-day hike. "Please, come back here during the week, especially not on a long weekend - there is nobody here!" - pleaded the ranger. And so we must, some day.
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