Trinity Alps Wilderness, California Jun 10-12

[BlackHatGuy]

To the tune of Walking on Sunshine

(My apologies to Katrina and the Waves)

I used to think maybe backpacking was better alone

And I couldn’t wait to get out in the woods on my own

Then one day my BPL friend, Ken, invited me down

to Trinity Alps down in Cali, for a walk around

Now I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

And don’t it feel good! Hey! All right now.

And don’t it feel good!

I used to think hiking with others would just harsh my mellow

But Steven and Ken T. sure do seem like really nice fellows

With Kat and Jen joining the group, it’s like icing on the cake

We’re all gonna have a campfire near some beautiful lake

Now I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

And don’t it feel good! Hey! All right now.

And don’t it feel good! Yeah.

Hiking with Ken T.

Hiking with Ken T.

I feel alive, I feel the love, I feel the love that’s really real

I feel alive, I feel the love, I feel the love that’s really real

Now I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

I’m hiking with Ken T., whoa…

And don’t it feel good! Hey! All right now.

And don’t it feel good!

I’ll say it, I’ll say it, I’ll say it again now

And don’t it feel good! Hey yeah now!

So, ummm, it was a great trip. Shoulda been there.

[Ken Thompson]

…and Jen, Kat, Steven. Bravo Doug.

[Kattt]

[Jay Wilkerson]

I would of come people

[Jerry Adams]

That’s weird, I was there June 11 – 14

Swift Creek Trailhead, Granite Lake, almost to Deer Lake, Black Meadow, Mumsford Meadow, Landers Lake, Parker Creek, back to Swift.

I tried to get to Landers Lake, but the trail was really faint and I got tired of bushwacking.  I can see from map I must have been above the real trail – must have missed it going up.

Tiny bit of snow at Granite Creek Pass:

More snow at Deer Creek Pass.  I turned around just before Deer Lake but someone else had come over from Long Canyon:

This deer was bugging me on Deer Creek.  I yelled at it to keep away from my stuff but didn’t go as far as throwing rocks:

Pass looking down to Mumsford Basin, just a little snow at the top:

A lot of Trinity trails are faint and maybe just have cairns:

You can just barely see a cairn in the distance.  Have faith and walk towards it, maybe have to search around for where the trail might be:

Pitcher Plants in Black’s Basin, above Landers Lake:

[Ken Thompson]

Chaffers descend upon the Trinities

Jerry, so close.

[Jerry Adams]

so, where were you?

[BlackHatGuy]

Canyon Creek to the lakes, camped there. Went up to Boulder Lake the next day, hung out for a bit, took a swim, then headed back and camped on the way back to the cars. Finished the hike the following morning.

The highlight of the trip, most definitely, was Jen’s dissertation on sphincters. Went on for a bit. I am not making this up….

[jscott]

This is the trail where my friends and I–and everyone else in the area around the lakes–were flooded out in a giant storm in September. I was using a newish (to me) Hexamid solo with a slight scent of dog still in the netting. I wasn’t that familiar with the set up. Oh well,things turned out o.k. Once I re-pitched out of the sudden creek that appeared the Hexamid held up fine, even though the continual misting from it’s single wall was new to me. Trial by fire. My bag stayed dry.

[BlackHatGuy]

June must be the time to go then! We had gorgeous weather.

[Jennifer Mitol]

ah yes, sphincters!

C’mon, you guys REALLY enjoyed that, didn’t you…….

[Kattt]

 

The sphincter dissertation was informative; Doug volunteering for a demonstration is when things got dark.

The weather was sweet and it was cool enough at night to keep the bugs away.

I had some ITB issues, which was a first for me, and Jen’s help was invaluable ( with Doug’s Leuco tape).

We had some stream crossing/ log walking adventures but no one fell in :)

No bears tried to take our food but Doug got into Ken’s stash of goodies.

[t.darrah]

Reads like a great adventure, thanks for sharing.

[d k]

Sounds like a fun time was had by all – love the pics from Kat’s wildlife camera (I assume)!

 

But man, I don’t even want to speculate on which or whose sphincter(s) Doug was volunteering in regards to.  :)

[BlackHatGuy]

Hi Thom! Long time since you’ve joined us, glad to have you back!

[Kattt]

 

Yes nice to hear from you Thom!

@DK those are indeed trail camera pictures. I have a few deer videos as well. No, you don’t want to know any more about those demonstrations, but I was not involved.

Here is a highly staged photo taken before we left Boulder Creek Lakes. I made Doug stand by me to show off our awesome Elemental Horizons packs.

Kidding aside, Boulder Creek lakes are really beautiful and the bit of a hike up is well worth it. These lakes and Caribou are my favorites in the Trinities.

My first BPL trip was to Canyon Creek Lakes and then up to L lake. That was 2009 and I only knew Josh and his son Ocean. We drove up together and met the rest at Ripstein Campground: Ken, Jay, Cameron and David Lutz ( I think that was all of them). I was worried I would not keep up, feeling out of shape and with a relatively heavy pack; I was fine after all and had a great time.

The Trinities are a special place.

[BlackHatGuy]

“The Trinities are a special place.”

Especially when you’re with special people.

[t.darrah]

My focus has been trail running and tenkara with some UL hiking in the mix. Will make an effort to be more active on BPL moving forward.

[Jane Baack]

Ken T. helped my women’s backpacking foursome several years ago when we did the Canyon Creek/Boulder Lakes trip.  We stayed in one of his “secret” camping spots and overall had a delightful three-day trip. We did it in late Sept. and almost had the place to ourselves and perfect weather.

Glad you all had a great time.  There was a bit of a concern that political talk might interfere but with those gorgeous surroundings why bother with politics when you’ve got sphincters to discuss???? Someone on BPL doesn’t want to see any more feet in trip report pictures.  Me?  I am fine with pics of feet but PUH-LEEZE don’t show us your sphincter pictures!!

Kat,  I had ITB issues last year  after a week-long hiking trip in Utah, at Capitol Reef.  I thought maybe all the soft sand and footing in those gorgeous canyons, etc. caused it.  Who knows?  Oh, the pain!  and it continued until I finally was diagnosed and given exercises by a good therapist.  It took awhile but I haven’t had any issues since and know what to do if it happens again and how to try to prevent it.  I’m sure Jen’s advice was spot on. Hope your bout with it is over soon.

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