Backpacker Magazine – January 2011

Our Backyard: Trinity Alps Wilderness, CA

Follow trail-savvy locals to nine sweet spot in the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

by: Jason D.B. Kauffman

Tags:
• California
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• Destinations
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• Trinity Alps Wilderness
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• Wildlife
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Weaverville, California, resident Anthony Alpert, 44, has taken advantage of his hometown’s prime access to the Trinities for a dozen years. Summer conditions can come late here, he warns. Before heading out, check the national forest’s trail reports for info on downed trees, the current snowline, and whether or not the creeks are passable. “Sometimes I’m at my favorite lake by May,” Alpert says, “and sometimes I have to wait until mid-July.”

Jane Hedve Brenenstahl, 53, of Shasta Lake, California, has hiked the Trinity Alps for nearly two decades. Be observant, she says. “There are fossils of sea creatures embedded in rocks, and relics left by Native Americans, trappers, and miners scattered throughout the Trinities.”



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