Day 21: Oh Caribou!

[Emily]:

After breakfast we said goodbye to Gabrielle who was getting a ride out and who on her first backpacking trip made it through four mostly frigid and wet days! We started the morning in a cold drizzle and crossed the Salmon River for the final time.

Nothing like a rainy, frigid crossing of the South Fork Salmon to start your morning. 

We started up the “new” Caribou Lakes Trail (the “old” trail was covered in snow and is a much steeper climb) which winds around the west side of Caribou Peak, gradually climbing and curving around to more and more spectacular views of the heart of the Trinities. 

Fortunately less than an hour after we set out the sun started to peak through the clouds. Oh boy were we excited! 

Pretty soon we started walking through granite with water rivulets flowing everywhere as the rain of the past few days made its way down the mountain. And as we walked south along the trail the Caribou Lakes basin would reveal itself bit by beautiful bit. 

Erin walks towards the Caribou Lakes basin. 

The lakes are coming into view - and the outlet to Lower Caribou Lake! 

The weather and a fresh dusting of snow had kept anyone from camping overnight in the basin so we had the lakes all to ourselves on a Saturday. I had been excited to take in Snowslide Lake, Lower Caribou and Caribou Lake all together but was blown away by how much water there was everywhere in the basin - another pleasure of being up here while snow was still melting (and falling).

Meandering through the wallows in the lakes basin.

After too short of a time at Caribou Lake we resolved to come back and stay a day or two and then began to tackle the toughest section of the day - the snowy traverse up to Sawtooth Ridge. One of the reasons we had rearranged our hike north to south was the amount of snow that was still in the Trinities when we started at the end of May. The north facing slope of the Sawtooth Ridge had the most snow we would see on the whole trek. The snowy climb started out well as we tried to avoid steep open sections of snow, but eventually we had to just kick our feet in with each step and take our time.

Big Caribou Lake from the snowy climb up to Sawtooth Ridge.

The steep snow traverse was kind of intense but did allow for an adventure selfie to document. 

We had had a wonderfully quiet day up to this point, enjoying the basin and hike all to ourselves, until we heard some distinctly human “whoops" coming from atop the ridge. At first these sounds comforted us that we were indeed getting close to the pass and the end of snow. Fortunately we had picked a good line to the ridge (with the aid of our GPS) and finally emerged on top of the knife-edge Sawtooth Ridge!

Glorious views from the ridge down the Stuart Fork and up towards Sapphire and Emerald Lakes.

We took in the views for awhile and let the noisy humans descend the dry south side of the ridge. After getting acquainted with all the peaks and features in view, we too finally headed south down about 90 switchbacks to the Stuart Fork Trail.

The Stuart Fork Trail (albeit it was a Saturday) was a veritable highway as we encountered several multi-person groups chatting away while hiking. The Stuart Fork is a well-trod trail without exceptional elevation gain and thus a popular weekend hike. It was plenty light out so we decided to put in more miles and get closer to the resupply point we would reach the following day. We were taken aback at having to really search for a vacant camping spot along the river that night. But what an absolutely amazing day...

Total miles: 12.7

Day 20: Shelter from the Storm

[Emily]:

Today we awoke from a very rainy night into a very wet morning. Our meadow camping spot off the Lady Gulch Trail was not exactly flat so the incline in our tents made for some wet spots throughout the night.

In planning the hike, we had hoped to climb Packer’s Peak today as it is the highest point through the Trinities along the Bigfoot Trail. However everything was socked in with rain and fog, and the three of us realized the best thing for our group would be to hike down the Lady Gulch Trail towards the Coffee Creek Road.

Three ladies walking down the Lady Gulch Trail.

It continued to rain throughout the morning as we got down to the Coffee Creek Road along the creek. We still had a couple miles of gravel road walk to get to Big Flat Campground and also hopefully a stop in at Mountain Meadow Ranch, a private mountain resort near Big Flat.

Walking up Coffee Creek. 

Like many of the streams in the Trinities, Coffee Creek has experienced a succession of mining operations in past decades.

Old mine tailings along Coffee Creek

Eventually we came to Mountain Meadow Ranch along the road and decided to try to see if we could warm up out of the rain. We had heard the Ranch operator had agreed to hold packages for potential Bigfoot Trail hikers so we hoped they would be sympathetic to three drenches hikers. On our walk down the ranch driveway Gabrielle spotted a baby fawn no larger than a house cat curled up in the grass. We took a peak from a distance and then saw the mom deer and quickly continued on our way. :)

Fortunately the folks at Mountain Meadow Ranch were more than hospitable. Someone saw us walking up, motioned us to come through the kitchen screen door, and pointed towards the fire place. We were immediately asked if we wanted beer, coffee or snacks. We peeled off wet layers and were so grateful for the warmth and kindness. Turned out that the ranch was not yet open for the season but one of the ten families that co-own the ranch was there together for a week. They were eager to hear about the Bigfoot Trail and to share their favorite hikes and recount past trips from spending dozens of summers in the Trinities.

Erin stretching by the fire and enjoying the shelter from the storm at Mountain Meadow Ranch. 

After drying out by the fire for a couple hours and enjoying conversation with new people, we felt we should move on and let the family enjoy their holiday together. We walked down to Big Flat Campground along the upper South Fork Salmon River. As we prepared dinner (yummy creamy potato soup with couscous and rehydrated veggies), we chatted with a few folks at the campground and heard that according to the weather forecast the sun would reappear around 10am. We eventually found enough dry wood for a wet fire and attempted to sleep through another rainy night.

Total miles: 12

Day 19: A quiet day, a rainy camp

[Erin]:

We woke to a light smattering of snow around us.

We hiked over two saddles, the first with views over Long Gulch Lake. We hiked down to Rush Creek Lake on sometimes good trails, sometimes the faintest of trails, along soggy meadows that disappeared into alder thickets.

At the ridge, warming in the sun.

Emily and Gabrielle wend their way through rocks.

The clouds were threatening, but still above Long Gulch Lake we imagined we could escape the downpour...

Headed that direction...

Visible trail.

We saw fresh bear tracks in the snow fields.

I kept imagining bears around every turn. It just seemed like bear paradise.

We entered camp in the pouring rain and set up at the edge of Lady Gulch, a meadow with a few inches of water that we crossed on wobbly logs.

I hid under a tree and neglected most of my camp duties.

Despite the rain, I wrote in my journal: "I'm thankful for the tree whose canopy is protecting me, and for the tent where I will soon crawl, and the little alcohol stove that is heating water for dinner (split pea soup and cous cous)."

Total miles: 7.7

Day 18: From one wilderness to the next

[Erin]

We got up and went over the little ridge at the edge of Waterdog Lake. We hiked through some snow and got above Russian Lake, which was obscured by a bright white sea of fog. Then we hiked down, through meadows richly green with corn lilies.



Children of the Corn (lilies)!

Bleeding Hearts in two colors

Siphon Lake

We exited the Russian wilderness, crossed a road, and entered the Trinity Alps wilderness. Simple as that. We hiked up to Fish Lake, which was more a swampy meadow than a lake, and found a nice place to camp. As the hail started to fall, we got into our sleeping bags and lit a fire.

The trail into Fish Lake was so very quiet and little-hiked. It was a sort of forgotten corner of the Trinity Alps.

Fish Lake, but I think the name is misleading.

 

We were so very cold.

One thing I love about wilderness areas, oddly enough, is the evidence of humans. Every trail, lake, ridge, and meadow has a name, usually (almost always) given by some Euro-American settler who thought they'd conquered the place. And look closer, there are little dynamite circles in the rocks, trails leading from campsites to the water, signs placed strategically and blazes on trees. Not only that, many of these wilderness areas not long ago crawled with thousands of miners, who left behind piles of mine tailings and occasional old roads with dilapidated cabins. And before them, more people, setting fires. These wildernesses have a seeming purity, at least in their legislative intent: "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man" but the modern construction  of wilderness cannot fully hide the fact that humans have been there, even trammeled there, for thousands of years.

Total miles: 9.3

Day 17: Into the Russians + conifers seen so far

[Emily]:

From Idlewild, we became a three lady hiking group as Gabrielle joined us for the Russians and Trinities. After a delicious breakfast we said goodbye to Barbara and Elly and headed up the South Russian Creek drainage.

Heading where the arrow points.

First we had a 5.5 mile road walk then another 5.5 trail hike up to Waterdog Lake. While the PCT stays near the crest and ridges, the Bigfoot Trail allows you to experience more elevation changes and associated diversity in plant communities. I was thankful for this as the South Russian Creek trail traverses gorgeous forest through mixed-severity burn from 2014. The trail was in remarkably good shape through the burn and had had recent maintenance.

Today we also saw two conifer species we were pretty certain we would only see in the Russians - Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir. These two sights got us up to 25 conifers on the hike so far. Conifers seen so far in order of observation: redwood, Western Red Cedar, western hemlock, Sitka spruce, Jeffrey pine, knobcone pine, Port Orford Cedar, Douglas-fir, common juniper, sugar pine, incense cedar, yew, grand fir, white fir, Brewer spruce, noble fir, Shasta red fir, western white pine, lodgepole pine, mountain hemlock, foxtail pine, whitebark pine, Ponderosa pine, Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir.

Erin posing with a subalpine fir and contemplating the conifer diversity of the Russian Wilderness. 

We kept hiking up through several meadows and eventually some snow patches to get back into the high country.

After a good hiking day we reached lovely Waterdog Lake at around 7200 feet surround by snow and below Russian Peak. We had climbed a significant elevation while a cold front had also moved in.

Lovely Waterdog Lake, though I did not see any namesake newts. 

The three of us put on all our clothes we had and explored the ridges above Waterdog Lake for glorious views back down the South Russian Creek drainage.

We were down in the valley - note the PCT 2/3 up the ridge.

Total miles: 11

Day 16: Resupply Party!

[Emily]:

About every other day during the trip Erin and I had been saying, “well once we get to Mule Bridge...” Not only were friends to meet us and bring a resupply box of food and supplies but it would also mean we successfully made it past the half way point of the trip.

We woke up this morning excited for a break in our routine, to hang out with friends, and for a chance to rest - we just had 2.5 miles to walk down the road to Idlewild Campground.

Regardless of the outdated message, I do really like the graphics. 

After our little saunter down to Idlewild, we did some yoga, washed up in the river, and wondered down the Salmon River Road to find out about any weather or fire updates. We chatted with a great lady down the road a bit who said we should go talk with Steve who knows everything going on around here. Steve and his dog Blue live just across the way from Idlewild, and so we walked up towards his neat and tidy trailer and garden past giant scarecrows. After a brief wariness of us knowing his name already, Steve shared what he had heard on the radio about the Pony Fire across the Klamath and that a cold front was moving into the mountains. Not only was he familiar with the Bigfoot Trail, he met Sage who through hiked two years ago. We stood around and listened to Steve talk about the river and community, the history of his property, landscape changes over the years and his views on fire and salvage logging. I could listen all day to someone so observant and reverent of the natural world around him, regardless of views on policy and politics.

Barbara, Gabrielle and Elly arrived from the coast around 2pm and promptly got out the cheese and salad fixings from the cooler - delicious. Our hike along the Bigfoot Trail would not have been the same without good friends supporting us along the way - thank you!

Yay party at Idlewild! Thanks for the pic Elly! 

Total miles: 2.5

Day 15: The North Fork of the Salmon River

[Emily]:

It’s going to be a fine day when you wake up on the shores of a gorgeous high country lake. We woke up early and departed Abbott Lake excited about hiking out towards our friends meeting us for a resupply the following day.

Erin and I had hiked this route along the North Fork of the Salmon River two years ago on our first backpacking trip together. The trail leads to more great lakes such as English, Hancock and Diamond Lake. Fortunately that trip went well enough (though I did forget to pack the coffee much to Erin’s chagrin!), that we continue to hike together into new adventures.

So many great spots along the North Fork. 

So the most notable achievement today was crossing the North Fork of the Salmon River six times. The first when it was just a wee stream, the fifth when it was deep and fast, the sixth at a wide, easy ford. The hike out was full of big trees, mostly ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and incense cedar, and we also saw quaking aspen and Oregon boxwood.

We passed many great swimming holes some of which we had jumped in before but we pressed on to Mule Bridge campground where we promptly jumped in the big hole beneath the bridge.

Total miles: 12.5

Day 14: from Wooley Creek to Abbott Lake

Good morning hill!

This was the start of our morning: lost the trail, then realized the trail was up the hill. The steep, dusty hill composed of mine tailings and poison oak. We hiked along Wooley Creek, then crossed it. The water was deep, and so very cold. We dropped to the ground on the opposite side, warming our feet and gasping and celebrating another successful crossing.

Found the trail!

Gorgeous, cold Wooley Creek.

A bit early in the season for swimming - we decided we'd return to Wooley Creek later.

Then we hiked uphill to a ridgeline for about 5 miles, a long slog. Emily and I told each other stories. I felt like we each knew members of the other's families and friends - people we had never met, but told through the other's eyes. We were also silent for long stretches, each in her own head. We got down to the Bug Gulch trail, which would take us out of the wilderness. We had hiked here two years before, but hadn't gotten to Abbott Lake. We decided to head up to the lake because we still had some energy, and because "Bug Gulch" isn't much for atmosphere.

Abbott Lake, in its steep-walled cirque.

I sat in the sun, sending our "OK" message on the satellite transmitter. I reclined on a rock and considered my happiness, and the wonder that I could just go hiking for a month.

I finished Angle of Repose and opened my next novel, East of Eden, which mirrored Angle of Repose in many of its themes ("taming" the west, particularly), but was very different in style. Where Wallace Stegner wrote beautifully and with incredible empathy, I found Steinbeck to be somewhat flat and cold. But I read it voraciously, without distraction. 

Total miles: 11.5 including to Abbott Lake; about 4000 ft. elevation gain total

Day 13: Marble, marble, everywhere

[Erin]:

After breakfast under Black Marble Mountain, we walked around on slabs and crevasses of glowing rock, slowing circling around the great walls of granite.

Marble underfoot. Also above us. And next to us. Basically everywhere. I guess actually granite.

Smiling and walking...

We walked along some snow fields, and then dropped our packs and hiked up to Marble Gap, about 1 mile off the main trail.

Marble Mountain in the background.

The views were spectacular.

At this point, our hiking poles were basically just extensions of our arms.

Marble Gap.

From here, we just gazed over the beauty of the Marbles and the mountains in the distance.

I did try to ski down the hill...

Up close, the granite of Marble Mountain reminded me of the walls and stairs of the courthouse in my hometown of The Dalles. I grew up in that courthouse, sitting at my dad's bench. I'd pretend to be a teacher; I'd turn on the microphones and sternly tell imaginary students in the empty courtroom about their upcoming spelling test.

Past Marble Gap, we ran into a few people who were hiking the PCT: a young man with a big camera, then an older guy - scruffy, heavy-set, in a camo hat and shirt. He looked rumpled and unlikely, his pack askew and his belly hanging slightly over his hip belt. He stopped to talk, unusual for a PCT hiker. I assumed he was just out for a few days until he said he'd "started down in Mexico." He asked us where we were headed, and when we said the Yolla Bollys, he said he'd hunted there in his youth, "shooting anything that moved." I was delighted to finally find someone who knew of the Yolla Bollys and we talked about that mysterious part of the world for a bit.

We hiked on, up to a ridge where we peeled off from the PCT. At the ridge, we searched for subalpine fir, to no avail. 

Where's that subalpine fir?

We hiked down through a burn to Wooley Creek. Once we got further down the drainage the slopes became very unconsolidated so you’d sink down the hill quite a bit while skirting around poison oak.

A bit of high-severity fire in here.

Emily and her tent. The creek looked like great swimming, but too cold in June!

We set up camp, following the routine: put up the tent, filter water, do yoga, cook dinner, get the bear bag up, brush teeth, read. At this point, we didn't need to talk about what to do. We'd just follow our tasks, one thing after another. I felt peace through routine. 

Total miles: about 9.5 (including to Marble Gap).