Stuart Fork Trail, Trinity Alps, CA

I traveled alone into the mountains on this hike shortly after my mother passed away. I really needed time to decompress and sort out my emotions. John Muir's quote in the title box of this blog resonated with me as I ventured into unknown territory, knowing that, at the very least, I could blow off some steam by simply taking a walk in the woods. Little did I know that this trek would be far more than a simple walk in the woods.

Emerald Lake

I drove from San Francisco up to Weaverville by way of Highway 5. It was a pleasant drive, consisting primarily of farmland with the occasional truck stop along the way. I loved the view of the lake as I traveled through Whiskeytown. By the time I arrived in Weaverville, it was too late to try and hike out to my campsite destination, Morris Meadow, so I decided to get lodging in town for the night and start out fresh in the morning. I pulled the car into the 49er Gold Country Inn. I highly recommend this place if you find yourself in need of some rest before or after a hike in the Trinity Alps. Nothing fancy. Just a clean room at a decent rate with working AC, cable TV, and a little refrigerator. The place also has a small pool, free wifi, and free popcorn at the front desk when you check in.

The next morning, I rose, checked out of the motel, and drove down the road to the Weaverville ranger station. They were closed for the Labor Day holiday, so I filled out a permit and dropped it into the box outside.

This was my first solo trek into the woods so I was a bit concerned with how much weight I would be carrying. It's a bit easier when you have help carrying food items and the like. In the end, my pack weighed about 40 pounds; about ten pounds heavier than I would have liked but I really did my best to reduce weight as much as possible.

 I parked my car at the trailhead, shouldered my pack and headed into the woods.

After several hours and about ten miles of walking, I found myself at beautiful Morris Meadow surrounded by towering granite spires. I set up camp here, feeling thoroughly exhausted. After setting camp, I had a walk around and was amazed at the realization I was the only human being in that enormous meadow. I found a stream near my campsite where I gathered water for cooking and drinking (after treating for microorganisms). As I cooked dinner, I observed deer grazing nearby my campsite and watched the sun set over the mountains while enjoying some spaghetti. After dinner, I tied the remainder of my food up in a tree so the bears wouldn't get to it, and turned in for the night.

I had a hard time sleeping. The air mattress was super thin and not insulated, so it got pretty cold at night. I also kept hearing noises in the woods and wondered what was out there. At one point, I was jarred awake by something running past my tent at full speed (maybe a deer that got spooked by my snoring? haha).

When I got up the next morning, I cooked a breakfast of freeze dried eggs and coffee, then looked at my topo map while eating so I could decide where to go for the day. I settled on a day hike to nearby Emerald Lake, about five miles further up the trail from my campsite. I thought about packing up everything and spending the night at the lake, but decided on a day hike instead, and left a base camp at the meadow.

The lake was just as beautiful as the meadow and I spent the day swimming and reading. It was very relaxing. I could see trout swimming in the water as I risked getting a sunburn while laying out on the huge rocks along the shore. I liked watching them break the surface of the cool alpine water as they went after flying insects.

When the sun made its way across towards the other side of the lake, I decided it was time to head back to camp. On the walk back down the trail, I came out of some heavy brush and heard a loud, crashing noise to my left. I immediately realized it was a bear when I saw a large, black furry shape charge away from the trail and up the hillside to the left of me. The bear perched itself on top of a nearby boulder and turned to look at me.

Yes, I took this picture!

I had spent some time reading up on California black bears and figured I would know what to do if I ever encountered one. Luckily, this one was more afraid of me than I was of him/her. The one thing I knew for sure was that I shouldn't run. I took out my camera and started taking pictures of it while talking to it in a low voice. I don't even remember what I was saying, but I do remember feeling thrilled at the opportunity to be so close to such a beautiful animal in its natural habitat instead of at a zoo. As I stood there snapping off one picture after another, the bear slowly made its way further up the hill away from me. I figured this was my cue to be on my way as well. I waved to the bear and continued on down the trail, occasionally looking back to make sure I wasn't being followed (I had empty Lara bar and buffalo jerky wrappers in my backpack from my snack time at the lake).

I spent one more night sleeping in the meadow. Before turning in, I went over my map again and thought I might take a shot at hiking a seldom used trail up to another lake known as Alpine Lake, to the southeast of the meadow when I got up in the morning.

After another very cold night of restless sleep, I packed up the tent and all my gear and hit the trail for my next campsite. The climb up the mountain was steep and grueling, and the weight of all my gear compounded with the past couple days of endless walking made this an arduous undertaking. This section of trail had clearly not been maintained as I had to push and shove my way through overgrown chaparral and scramble over large sized boulders. A couple of times, I lost my bearings and had to backtrack to pick up the trail again.

I don't know how close I came to getting to that lake, but when I was fairly high up into the mountain, I got slammed by a rainstorm that I never saw coming. I didn't even have time to cover myself, let alone my gear. What a downpour! By the time I got my poncho on, it was too late. My socks, pants, and everything else were soaked, including my sleeping bag.

I started thinking about survival at this point. I was alone. I was soaking wet. I was exhausted from the climb. I had no idea how much further it was to the lake. When I got there, I was fairly certain I wouldn't be able to dry off before it got dark and it REALLY started to get cold. I made the decision to turn around and head back to my car. I remember apologizing to my mother out loud, with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye, for not trying harder and promising to return some day.

The following year, at the same date, I hiked back into the Trinity Alps with a small container of my mother's ashes. I spread them on the earth and in the water of my favorite alpine retreat. I plan to go back there every year for as long as my legs are able to carry me.