Exploring Trinity Lake

On Wednesday, October 2, we set out into the Trinity Lake area to go camping, with a long day hike in the Trinity Alps as the centerpiece of the trip.   A ranger at the headquarters for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest had recommended that we stay at the Tannery Gulch Campground, on the shore of Trinity Lake, which is what we did.

However, we had been worried about the impending federal government shutdown.  We knew that the National Parks would close, and we believed that the National Forests would also cease providing services, but we didn't know the impact on campgrounds or hiking in the back-country.  We called the Weaverville Ranger Station and were advised that, while Forest Service run campgrounds would close, those that are run by private concessionaires would remain open.  Not to worry, Tannery Gulch is run by a concessionaire and will be open.  No one can stop you from hiking in the national forest, either.

Okay, we said, good enough for us.  But we still remained uncertain what the overall impact would be on our trip.

We arrived at the campground, only to find it absolutely empty.  Parts of the campground were gated and closed, but the part we wanted to camp in was not blocked.  We found a site, paid our fee at the self-service post, checked the restroom, and it was unlocked.  Okay, we should be good.

Off we went on a day hike along the western shore of the lake.

The lake is quite striking, for the odd reason that, as with Shasta Lake, its water level is managed for the purpose of providing hydroelectric power and irrigation water.  As the summer season wears on, the lake level falls as water is drawn down.  By this time of the year, the lake level is about at its lowest point.  This makes for a surreal but colorful image:

Despite the lake being so dry at the margin, the forest around it is green and rich with life:

From our trailhead at a boat ramp, we headed for Trinity Lake Resort & Marina, which is a collection of vacation rental cabins, together with a marina populated mainly by large, ungainly boathouses and some fishing boats.  As we arrived near the resort, we entered this beautiful glen below:

There was more than immediately met the eye in that scene above.  A doe was grazing near our path.  She wandered closer to us as we hiked closer to her.   If you look closely, you can see her in the photo above.  Eventually, she realized with a start that we were near.  She had wanted to graze our direction, and for a few moments, she stood still, not knowing what to do:

Eventually, she turned and fled, but left us with a couple photos of the sudden encounter.

We walked on down to the marina, where many houseboats and fishing boats were stilled docked despite the latening season:

We felt that our 6-mile hike entitled us to a snack, so we stopped in the marina store, which was still open, and bought some ice cream bars.  Certainly, we needed some energy for the hike back to our truck!

Nearing the end of our hike, we got to the boat ramp where our original trailhead was located, and saw the strangest structure floating in the middle of the lake:

On closer inspection, we realized that it was a group of floating port-a-potties.  Each had its own raft supporting it.  They were lashed together in a row.  We speculated that they were waiting to be pulled out of the lake before winter.  We couldn't tell whether they floated around in the lake at various strategic points, anchored for use by visiting boaters, or whether they were anchored at, or dragged up on, the shore at various points to be used by landlubbers as well.  We're not sure we'll know the answer to our questions on that subject.

As we arrived back our campground, a young man in a truck stopped and advised us that the campground was being closed.  We related to him that we had checked with the Weaverville ranger office, who had advised us the campground would be open.  He countered that he works for the concessionaire that runs the campgrounds and that, contrary to original plans, someone from the Washington D.C. office of the Forest Service had called that day to advise that all concessionaire-run facilities must also close.  He did say that we were allowed to camp that night, but that we must vacate the campground the next day.  We told him that we would do so.

We think he was so relieved that we took the news well, that he started to chat with us about our hiking plans.  We said we were looking for a good day hike in the area.  He recommended we try the Swift Creek Trail, up near Trinity Center about a 15 mile drive north along the lake.  He said that the trail would take us in to a beautiful lake - Granite Lake - surrounded on three sides by granite canyon walls.

This sounded wonderful, so we decided to take his advice, and we spent the rest of the evening, heating and eating our camp dinner and making plans for the 10 mile hike into Granite Lake the next day.

As the sun started to set, the shadows grew long and the light grew golden over the lake.  Here is a photo of Granite Peak rising behind Trinity Lake, as seen from our campsite:

Even more spectacular, the golden sunset light shone on the trees along the lake.  In the near distance, about a mile away, was a single stand of aspen, which, already gold in the autumn air, glowed yellow and light green against the darker evergreen trees - the only stand of aspen on the entire lake.  It was a very special sight:

As the sun set, it also grew distinctly colder, and we bundled up against what would likely be lows in the 30's.  Here we are, with our tent in the background, enjoying the last light of the day:

Off to bed around 8:00 p.m., we fell asleep dreaming of the beauties we would encounter the next day as we hiked to Granite Lake.