Above Lower Canyon Creek Lake looking South
Originally uploaded by JoeDuck.
We continued our labor day tradition of meeting our great friends in Weaverville, CA and then hiking in to the Trinity Alps Wilderness along the trail up to the Canyon Creek Lakes. We camp about 4 miles in and then hike into the lakes the next day which is another 4 miles. It’s a fantastic trip with the kind of scenery you find pretty much only in Northern California – sweeping mountain vistas, smooth granite outcrops and peaks, pristine mountain lakes, streams, and waterfalls. Azure blues and deep greens and a star filled sky complete with the recent meteor shower. It doesn’t get much better than that and the Trinity Alps are one of my favorite places in the whole world.
One really cool addition to the experience this year was looking at the hike through Google Earth, where by tilting the imagery you can really get a neat feel for the vistas along the actual hike. We also found some photos of our first trip in to the Canyon Creek Lakes some 22 years ago. The scenery had not changed but … um … I think we have
Joe Duck 
great post and photo! very enticing to put the hiking boots on ourselves. looking forward to hearing from you about more hawaii trips. our ‘best hawaii vacation blog’ visitors do too. aloha, pua
Thx Pua!
Ah, that brings back pleasant memories…did a weeklong backpack into Grizzly Lake/Meadow not too far from Canyon Creek Lakes some years back, the Trinity Alps are indeed awesome. There is a spot of comparable beauty, though not nearly as large, to the North. If you have never checked out the Enchantments near Leavenworth, WA they are well worth the drive. It is highly regulated, however, and you must procure a permit to get in, but lots of massive granite, pristine high alpine lakes, Mountain goats and breathtaking scenery. If you like the Trinities you’ll love the Enchantments. They are aptly named.
Thx Paul – sounds like a great future trip! I’d not even heard of them before. Ever since I moved West – about 25 years ago – I have really enjoyed the sweeping granite scenery that you generally don’t find back East. Climbing Katahdin in Maine was an exception – it really felt like I was hiking in the Sierra Mtns out here.
It is a wonderful place to hike and lose yourself. However, as a New Yorker I have had the privilage to canoe the largest wilderness region East of the rockies and the largest forest preserve in the 50 states and seclude myself hundreds of miles from civilization in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, perhaps the most beautiful place on earth, and I have been to just about every state and several European destinations. The Adirondacks, declared forever wild by the State of New York, is larger that the 5 largest US National Parks, including Yellowstone and is a stop everyone that appreciates the great outdoors should put on their schedules before they die. But once they die they will probably land in a place just like this.
Tom I sure agree that the Adirondacks … ROCK! I grew up in Plattsburgh NY and hiked up Algonquin a few times (but never Mt. Marcy) and camped in the maple forest. One thing we don’t have out here is that amazing fall color.
I once attended the Mormon Pageant held each year in Palmyra, New York. The seating attendants were mostly church members from Utah. I vividly remember the most prevalent comment from most of them was “they couldn’t believe how green things were in the east. So your comment about “the amazing colors” is right on. In fact the leaves are turning in the North Country as we communicate. Keep up your good work.
Have you or do you know anyone who has hiked over Sawtooth Ridge from Canyon Creek into Stuart Fork? I am looking to do it this summer, but would like some info. I have hiked Canyon Creek and Stuart Fork, rotating every summer for the past 5 years and have been looking to combine the two trips into one big one. Any thoughts.