Day 0
Noah drove like a champion. I had to get shoes in Redding. Idlewild is a way out there. We were driving up in a beautiful intense storm. We reluctantly decided to drive to Weaverville and get a hotel. We were exhausted. I had a cheat day on my diet and didn’t feel great. Noah is so cool. I loved being with him and my friends. We had an adventure.
Once again, Noah came in clutch. What a kid.
We had been planning the shuttle but we underestimated the commitment… at least I did.
Partway up I-5, I remembered that I forgot my hiking shoes at home. I almost sent Noah, who was driving Michele’s car, back to get them. But we were too far along in our excellent plan. I decided to get new shoes at Sports Ltd. in Redding and asked Noah to pick up “the boys” at the airport. That was a crucial decision because sooner than we knew it, it was dusk.
Together again, we continued up I-5 and then deep into the wilderness. As we got deeper and deeper, it got darker and darker. As we neared the drop-off for the first car, a huge storm set upon us. We found ourselves on an adventure: off-road and climbing surrounded by brooding skies building into angry skies. At one point, I remarked that it looked like we were in Hell.
The storm was all around us and it was beautiful.
We tried to stay in Etna but the proprietor of the hotel slammed the door on us. To be fair it was 10:30 by the time we got there. We thought that we might be camping but the storm dissuaded us. Noah braved on and got us to Weaverville sometime after midnight. We called ahead to make sure we had rooms.
Day 1
I am sitting out getting eaten by mosquitoes because I was too stubborn to bring my tent part of the hike. Today was amazing. One of my favorite hikes ever. The flowers were intense. Part was overgrown and held a hike through. I saw a lot of new flora, vibrant and bright the forest is healthy here big trees.
It was exciting to be hiking the Bigfoot Trail again. We decided to skip a 10 mile section of road walking. Driving along this road section, we could see that it would have been a pleasant walk but we were happy to start with trail hiking.
The morning’s hike was delightful. It was gorgeous. It was a cool summer’s day. The trail had been maintained recently. And the forest was green and lush. The rain from the night before made everything absolutely vibrate with life. The moss and likens were thick and vibrant.
It smelled fresh and new. I feel that we were privileged to be out there at that moment.
As we hiked, we observed a firefighting operation. A lightning strike from the storm had set a small fire. We could see a crew on the ground, two helicopters, and a plane overhead monitoring the situation. The helicopter made some runs for water. It seemed that the crew was there to clean up. They were working seriously but it seemed to be in control. I remembered that Robert had mentioned that he had heard that they are really “on it” regarding fires this year. That seemed to be the case.
It became evident to me that I was in a new place, again.
Life looks different in the Trinity Alps. It is more intense and more weird than I am used to. It is something that I notice often while in them. I particularly notice the insects. They seem so strange and abundant.
The trail going up could not have been nicer.
As we started to descend Canyon Creek on the Bear Creek Trail, things changed. This section of trail is poorly maintained. It became a real struggle. The trail itself was difficult to follow. The descent is steep in many places. It is entirely overgrown in sections.
It soon became obvious that David is something of an extra special hiker. “Big D”, has a taste for cross county hiking and the strength and skills to handle it well. I do not. Loren has always been a stronger hiker than I am but he doesn’t admire bushwhacking any more than I do.
The Bear Creek descent was rough. I would not recommend it for anyone. Thankfully, David trail blazed for us and Loren beat down somewhat of a path for me to follow.
Along the way there is absolute beauty to admire. It was hard for me to maintain a mindset by which to admire much.
There was one section of flowers along the Bear Creek Descent that is so beautiful. It is a shame that they are impossible to access.
It was as if fireworks were going off around us as we were climbing through the trail.
We finally made it down to the Stuart Fork where we made camp.
It was evening, we were exhausted, I wished that I had brought a tent. I slept hard regardless.
Day 2
Great hike! The Stuart Fork is gorgeous and easy. We crossed the river higher up. The hike up to Morris Meadow and beyond is insane. We had a great lunch at a swim hole and then did the Caribou Lake Scramble. That was tough. The snow field on the other side was fun but somewhat perilous. Loren took a spill/slide in a scary spot. We were at Caribou and we caught brook trout. About to sleep out…
We started the morning with a stream crossing. There is so much water this year. We had to find a spot a quarter mile upstream to cross safely.
Once across the stream, we were on a steady trail. It was wonderful!
The Stuart Fork is a well established hike that many people take up to Sapphire and Emerald Lakes. It is gorgeous. It is easy. It is beautiful and full of life. Verdant.
Loren and I had hiked this trail when we got pushed out of Emerald Lake by the River Complex Fires in 2021. Smoke from the Packers Fire poured into the Stuart Fork canyon and we hiked 13 miles out of there in apocalyptic smoke.
This time was much nicer. I was sad to leave the lovely Stuart Fork Trail to take on the Caribou Lake Scramble.
The Caribou Scramble is somewhat renown. I found a great blog post that describes it well.
According to my gps data. The hike was exactly 2.0 miles with a 2537 ft. elevation gain. Up and up and up.
The hike was stunning. We lucked out and had cloud cover for a good portion of the hike. We met several families coming down from the top. I was surprised that the mothers of the children weren’t distressed by the steepness and potential fall danger as their kids toted fishing rods. The kids and dads seemed disappointed. We discovered why at the top.
Snow.
The north side of the slope was still covered in snow. The short descent down to Caribou Lake was made somewhat dangerous by the snow on the steep upper slope. We could see by the snowmen that the kids had made that was their stopping point. We carried on.
Right away, Loren started to struggle. He couldn’t keep his feet on the snow. He had two slides at the top that shook him. They would have shaken me. I was frighted by the traverse we had to make over snow and I was feeling confident on my feet.
We worked our way down to lower angles that made the snow fun, at least for me.
Caribou Lake is a special place. It was the most popular spot we visited this section. There were other people camping with us. That is not typical on the Bigfoot trail and we did not mind being around other campers.
Day 3
Coffee Creek. July 4th. Great hike down from Caribou Lake. A deer sucked on my hiking shirt and gloves. Good maintained trail. Mountain Meadow. Monika and her family. My resupply was there. My bag is heavy. I pigged out on tuna. We’re going into less traveled areas. I hope we can hike them OK. We camped a Coffee Creek before Lady Gulch Trail. There were several “posted” signs. We agreed not to fish.
Day three started off with a mystery.
The mystery was solved later in the day.
I could not find my hiking shirt anywhere. It was gone. Loren cheerfully set out to look for it and found it.
The morning was too cool to put on a shirt that was sopping wet. I decided to hike in my camp shirt and let my hiking shirt dry off. David teased me, “Be bold. Start cold.” I was still scratching my head about what could have happened with my shirt.
David said that it might be soaked with Deer slobber. I thought that was one of the most absurd things that I had ever heard.
Up the trail, we spotted a deer rummaging through campground. We chased it out but not before it had grabbed a bandana. We followed the deer into the trees but could only watch it as it greedily sucked on the handkerchief.
It methodically and meticulously started at one end and chewed and sucked. It did not eat the handkerchief. It sucked on it like a baby bottle.
David was right. My shirt was soaked in deer saliva. And my gloves. The mystery was solved and it was disturbing.
In the middle of the night, a deer had come to my bed, lifted my shirt from beside my head, and sucked on it thoroughly.
I stopped at the next stream and rinsed my shirt and gloves.
Holding the shirt to the light, we could see that it was riddles with small holes.
Mystery solved, we ventured on.
Because the Caribou Lake Trail is so popular, it is incredibly maintained and delightful to hike. We met many happy hikers along the trail.
I did begin to notice that Loren had lost some of the spring in his step. It had gotten quiet which is unlike him and his pace slackened. I found myself keeping up to him. He said he was tired.
The hike into Mountain Meadows was long and pleasant. I had sent a box with food into Mountain Meadow to save some weight going over what I now know is called locally as the “Suicide Scramble”. That name is not as charming as the Sawtooth Scramble or Caribou Scramble.
A local hiker asked if we had come over the Suicide Scramble and when we told them that we had, he responded enthusiastically, “Hell Yeah!” He asked us where we started. We told him Canyon Creek to which he responded, “Hell Yeah!” He asked us where we were headed and again, “Hell Yeah!” He continued to ask questions and continued to answer with an energetic, “Hell Yeah!” We agreed that he was a very fun guy to talk to and that the world could use more exclamations of “Hell Yeah!”
Mountain Meadow was lovely. I had been to Mountain Meadow twice before when I was a teenager. My buddy Andy is friends with the kids that grew up living and working there. In high school we drove up in Andy’s bus and partied with all of the ids there who were are age. One of those kids is Monika who now runs the place with her family including her children. I told her about how we had met before and we had a great laugh. She and her family were very kind. She invited us to a bubbly water and had my package.
It was really nice of her to take some time with us as the families were preparing for their Fourth of July celebrations. I felt like we got to celebrate the Fourth a little with some with friends.
Everyone at Mountain Meadow agreed that we should skip Packer’s Peak which suffered severely in the fires. We decided to head up the Lady Gulch detour. We foolishly refused a ride down Coffee Creek road to our next trailhead. It was an easy walk but we were tired. Loren really seemed to struggle.
We slept along Coffee Creek but there were enough “Posted” signs that we agreed fishing would not be a good idea.
Day 4
What a day! Exhausting, frustrating, amazing. It is still so beautiful. Lady Gulch was super steep. We got to the junction and just skipped the trail and hauled upwards. Loren is not feeling well. What a day to feel bad. I forgot my water bottle and had to go back to get it. The solo hike after doing that was a nightmare. The McNeil trail doesn’t exist and it is a dangerous nightmare of a traverse. I was dead and disappointed when I finally got to Rush Creek Lake. I don’t think the Bigfoot can be a trail with that section. I know that other sections need work, but that shit “Granite Scramble” is no joke, a total bitch. I started to panic. Thank God the trail to Fish Lake is good or we would not have made it, but we did, even Loren, poor guy. I am on a ridge above the lake to avoid mosquitoes. The other guys are down there.
The Lady Gulch trail starts off with a nice new sign. It is the counterpart to the McNeil Trail that I had worked just the week before. It meets the McNeil Trail at the junction with the Bigfoot.
There really was not much of a trail to follow. It is a steep bushwhack up. According to my data, it is a 3 mile hike with a 2,500 elevation gain to meet the McNeil.
Again, this hike is gorgeous yet arduous. I don’t think that I could recommend hiking this trail. There were sections where the trail is difficult to find, there is blow down, and it is completely overgrown.
At the top of the ridge, we stopped looking for trail and headed upward.
We had lunch at the top of the ridge from where we could see Shasta and Lassen.
After lunch, we were relieved to find better trail. I realized after about 3/4 of a mile that I had left my water bottle behind. I had to go back and get it. Loren was miserable and I told the guys not to worry. I would catch up to them.
Trying to catch up to the guys had me stressed out. I really began to worry when the trail dried up. I was so relieved to find a cairn that David had improved, but I lost the trail again shortly after.
The Bigfoot Trail brochure describes the next section as a delightful jaunt across a granite field or some shit like that. I disagree entirely.
I struggled. I searched for trail. There is none. The granite boulders are dangerous and difficult to navigate, hard to climb, and unsteady to descend. The boulders are overgrown in sections and there is deadfall crossing other sections. I was scared. I was exhausted. I was alone and I was miserable. If there is any section that makes the idea of the Bigfoot Trail problematic, this is it. Not only would I not recommend this hike, I would encourage others to avoid it. I have a difficult time imagining myself hiking this section ever again.
By the time I rejoined my buddies, I was shook. Loren was trashed. David was unscathed. He enjoyed catching fish at Rush Creek Lake. We had quite a bit more hiking left to do.
The trail was much better after Rush Creek Lake but it was still a struggle. Loren had really slowed and I found myself waiting up for him in a couple of spots. I knew something was wrong and I had my suspicions. I was fairly convinced that Loren was suffering from Covid. At least from the flu. He was exhausted, wasn’t interested in eating, was coughing, and was stumbling along the trail.
At Fish Lake where we camped. The swimming was not good because the bottom of the lake is so silty. I washed off as best as I could by dangling off of a log. I struggled with mosquitos. I climbed a nearby ridge to try to get out of their zone but it wasn’t enough. They relentlessly buzzed my face trying to get past my head net. It was a long night.
Day 5
I had a hard night of sleep because of the mosquitoes they were relentless. I hunkered into my bag and my mosquito mask. The hike out of Fish Lake sucked. It was brutal, no trail, thick brush, rocks, and fall down. We eventually made it to trail. What a relief we made it to a campground, and I almost wept. Toilet, water, and garbage. We regrouped and had lunch. Steep hike after lunch for miles. Loren really struggled because he is not feeling well. Brutal hike. We hit the PCT for .2 miles and the trail got incredibly beautiful. I don’t know where we are now on the map. We are at Russian Lake. We caught rainbow trout at the lake above, Siphon Lake. Russian is absolutely gorgeous. I am in heaven sitting here. Loren is asleep. David is fishing, but I don’t think there are fish in this lake. Lots of newts is the report.
Getting out of Fish Lake was miserable. I now understand that David can predict terrain by just looking at a topographic map. He told us before we set out that the morning would be a struggle. He was right. It is so overgrown that bush whacking was the only option. There were sections that we bushwhacked through willow which David warned us was the worst. He was right, again. It took us an hour and a half to go 3/4 of a mile.
Again, I would not recommend anyone hike that section of trail.
Once we merged with the Twin Lakes Trail, everything got better. The trail down to the campground is well maintained from there.
At Trail Creek Campground I just fell apart. I almost cried in relief. We took a long lunch. The campground had a bathroom, a water spigot, and a garbage can. At home, with all conveniences, it is difficult to imagine what luxuries those can be.
The trail henceforward promised to be in good shape. We were in country that has more road access for recreation so it was more likely that trails would be maintained. We were going to hike .2 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail so we knew that section would be great.
I tried to take a video that would show how beautiful the meadows were with all of the flowers. I don’t think pictures can do it justice.
We found a sweatshirt in the bushes right at the junction with the PCT. I mentioned that it was clearly from a Bigfoot victim. It was slashed up the front and the head had been ripped off. According to Loren, Bigfoot loves to rip people’s heads off.
He didn’t take the bait. He didn’t seem interested and said there would be blood if someone’s head got ripped off. I knew then that something was very wrong with Loren.
Syphon Lake was full of rainbow trout. They were having some sort of fish die off because I saw a dozen dead fish at the bottom of the lake. I don’t think that they are native to Syphon Lake.
Our campsite that evening at Russian Lake was glorious. I took an immediate swim in the ice and snowy water and felt amazing.
An older couple visited but I was not feeling social. Loren was asleep. David tried to fish. I painted.
Day 6
I woke up in time to watch the sunrise. Listening to a hermit thrush. Such a lovely call. Wee-whack-we-wa-lad. Several sounds at once it crescendos down. Stunning to hear. It shatters the morning silence.
I slept so well. It was a cool evening. There were no mosquitos. The moon stayed hidden mostly. I was well rested by morning. Five nights of going to bed by 8:00 makes it easy to wake in the morning.
The day looked to be very promising. I suspected that the trail would be good (and it was).
I believe that I read that we cross into the Pacific Northwest around this area. Things did seem different. The forest was more lush. It was more verdant.
Walking through the Russian Wilderness is like walking through a different type of paradise. It seems more gentle. It might seem that way because it hasn’t seemed to have burned here recently.
I would recommend hiking in the Russian Wilderness.
We were thankful to have left the car close to the end of the trail even though it had made the shuttle longer and more adventuresome . We were in no mood to walk on the exposed road by the end of our 62 mile hike.
Things I learned
David is an outstanding hiker. He told me that he often hikes with a mountaineering group. It shows. I knew he was an excellent hiker from the John Muir Trail but I believe he has gotten a lot better.
This hike would have been very difficult and maybe impossible without David. He found our route and blazed our trail throughout all of the days.
David is an avid fisherman and slayed with a Tenkara rod. By the time I had set up to fish anywhere, he had landed half a dozen fish. It didn’t hurt that he got to our destinations 30-40 minutes before I did. I have a new respect for Tenkara fishing and will try it out.
The Trinity Alps are intense. If you see a beautiful and interesting flower, look more closely because there will be an even more beautiful and interesting bug hidden within it. The Trinity Alps absolutely vibrate with life.
I will return to the Trinity Alps. This summer I have a plan to hike the gentle Stuart Fork with my son, and I hope to bring my buddy Andy out by way of Mountain Meadow and the McNeil Trail and Packer’s Peak.
The Bigfoot does not disappoint when it comes to challenging hiking.
Loren did have Covid. He must have picked it up in the airport coming out. David got it. I got it. David and I did not suffer.
Loren is a tough old dude. I knew he was strong. To have hiked all of that while suffering from Covid is something I only would believe because I saw it. He was not the vibrant, fun, talkative Loren that I hoped to hike with, but he did not complain at all.
It is important to teach people to mind their belongings where deer are so accustomed to people. I will now keep all of my gear packed away in my bag overnight or in the vestibule of my tent.
It is important to have a hat when you are using a bug net to sleep at night. It helps keep the net away from your face.
The iPhone makes a great camera. I still would have liked to have had my good camera to take some pictures of these bugs and flowers. When I look very closely, I am a little disappointed by the imagery.
Gallery
I took so many photos, not all of them are so compelling to see while reading. Here is a gallery slideshow of some of the good ones.
