Trinity Alps Trip - Part 4 - Peak Scramble

Tangle Blue lake is in a bit of a bowl (as I suppose it must be, since it's a lake). We decided to see if we could scramble up to the peak on the south side. It was a pretty steep scramble (we calculated it was about 800-1000' elevation difference between the lake and the peak) and we made it pretty far. I stopped maybe 2/3 of the way up and just hung out and enjoyed the view (and the flowers!). Zach and Molly scrambled up to the ridge and looked over into the next valley. 

Then we scuttled down the mountain and dipped our toes in the lake, said hello to a dragon fly, and went back to camp. Zach and I did jump all the way into the lake later. It was cold, but very refreshing!

Trinity Alps Trip - Part 3 - Hike to Tangle Blue Lake

At last! The hike to the destination. Oh. Wait. We got a flat tire. Even though the rental truck wasn't as tough as it looked (long story on why we even had a rental truck), it did come equipped with a good spare and jack set. We made it to the trail head before the tire lost all it's air, and we decided to change the spare then, rather than wait until our departure. As the nice ranger said: our future selves would thank our current selves (and they did!). 

One tire change and a little lunch later, we were on our way. Up into the woods, over creeks, and through meadows. There were beautiful wildflowers, funny frogs, hard to spot trail guidance, and a beautiful lake at the end! 

Trinity Alps Trip - Part 2 - Tannery Gulch Campground

Our first night we car camped at a campground on Trinity Lake (aka Clair Engle Lake). The campground and lake were lovely, but the jet skiers left something to be desired. Namely: they were really loud. Fortunately, they either got tired or ran out of gas after a few hours. 

At this campground and a few others there were these old forest service camp stoves. It's not clear to me if they still work, but they look like when they did work, they would have been great for cooking and heating without tons of smoke and open flames. 

Trinity Alps Trip - Part 1 - Sundial Bridge

Back in the first week of July, Molly, Zach, and I went to the Trinity Alps while Clara was at sleepaway camp. The Trinity Alps are this beautiful mountain range in the far northern part of the state, just west of Redding. 

Before we went camping, we stopped for lunch at the Sundial Bridge in Redding. It was super hot, but very scenic. And there was a goose that tried to charm us out of our food, but we weren't fooled! 

Barned wire

Indy (and Clara)