A Trinity Alps Wilderness Wandering

The photo is from the AllTrails App.

Excerpts in italics are from Hiking California's Trinity Alps by Dennis Lowen.

Note: The China Gulch Trail is referred to as the China Spring Trail in his book.

Highlights: The quickest route to Grizzly Lake - hence the quickest way to heaven.

The hike: If Grizzly Lake is your idea of heaven, then the China Spring Trail is where you want to be on Judgement Day. A steep 6.7 mile hike will get you in before the gates close.

Grizzly Lake, perched on a castle-like granite shelf at 7,100 feet, crowned by Thompson Peak and a glacieret, guarded by a clifflike approach and a waterfall pouring off its ramparts, and buffered by a sublime meadow at its base, is a heaven on earth for anyone who appreciates mountain scenery.

From the trailhead, the China Spring Trail (11W08) contours south, across China Creek, to begin a steep, waterless ascent to the Salmon River Divide. The stiff climb is somewhat compensated by the ever-increasing views across the Salmon River drainage. It takes just over a mile and a considerable amount of sweat to gain 1,600 feet and the top of the divide. Catch your breath and take the plunge over the other side, descending another 1.3 miles to the junction with the North Fork Trail (12W01).

You can find cold, clear, and much appreciated water in a stream just west of the junction, down the North Fork Trail. Now that you've lost all the elevation you just gained, it's time to earn it back - and then some. The path parallels the ever steepening Grizzly Creek drainage on its final journey southeast to its source at the head of the canyon. Several small waterfalls, lush gardens of ferns and berries, and welcome vistas up and down the drainage soon appear. At the top of a rocky outcropping you're treated to your first glimpse of the cirque above Grizzly Lake, with Thompson Peak and its permanent snow-fields towering over the basin.

After several more tantalizing glimpses, the path crosses a series of lush emerald meadows and deposits you in the heart of Grizzly Meadows, amid stands of red and white fir, summer wildflowers galore, granite-lined glades, and the crash of Grizzly Falls. The lake, of course, is hidden above the sheer cliff ahead, up where the falls pour from the sky. There's a way up there, but even the Forest Service hesitates to call it a trail.

It's called the Grizzly Scramble (its Forest Service title), which means a route exists but you'll need your hands free and good scrambling skills to follow it. From the meadow, cairns lead up the left (east) side of the boulder field. Before the base of the falls the route veers left (east) and climbs a loose talus slope up the side of the canyon. Pick your way up through the rock band (that's the scramble part), then traverse upwards and back to the southwest to reach the lake level, 0.5 mile and 800 feet above the canyon floor. You should arrive at the shore near the lip of the waterfall.

Icy water fed by the glacieret on Thompson Peak fills the 42-acre lake. Swimming is excellent if you can bear the temperature, and sun-baked granite slabs are in abundance if you can't. A sparse scattering of stunted fir and mountain hemlock grows in the rocky basin, but mostly it's just rock and snow and water. Gray and massive Thompson Peak, at 9,002 feet the highest summit in the Trinity Alps, looms over all.

General Timing and Itinerary for the day:

From the CVS Pharmacy in Ashland, it is 114 miles to the China Gulch Trailhead (put this in your GPS, or Google Maps).

The last 6 miles is a rocky road. High clearance vehicles are recommended.

9AM - 1PM Hike from the China Gulch Trailhead to Grizzly Lake.

1PM - 3PM Time at Grizzly Lake for lunch, swimming and exploring.

3PM - 7PM Return from Grizzly Lake to the China Gulch Trailhead.

Suggestions:

1. Bring a headlamp or flashlight in case we return in the dark.

2. Bring plenty of food and at least 4 liters of water.

3. Leave water in the cars for when we get back.

4. Leave some water in a hidden water cache near the trail junction of the China Springs Trail & North Fork Trail. We have a 1.3 mile climb on the way back.

5. An alternative is to carry a water filtration system.

The National Weather Service Forecast for Grizzly Lake:
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-123.048&lat=41.01

Feel free to contact Chris by Meetup Message or text at (541) 261-8167.