Trip Shakedown Series: Four Days in California’s Trinity Alps

Trip Shakedown Series: Four Days in California’s Trinity Alps

Welcome back to the Gossamer Gear trip report shakedown series! We know our community is always looking for new backcountry adventures to try and tips for preparing and packing for them with an ultralight mindset. That’s why we’ve asked our brand ambassadors to dish the details on their latest and greatest travels.

In this blog series, you’ll find:

  • Route recommendations
  • Challenges and highlights of the trail
  • Tips on how to plan your trip
  • Gear lists from our brand ambassadors

Our latest submission comes from Emily “Squishy” Schrick. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Emily is a thru-hiker turned weekend warrior and completed the Pacific Crest Trail in 2018, John Muir Trail in 2020, and Colorado Trail in 2021. In this trip report, she shares some background on hiking through the Trinity Alps Wilderness in California. We hope her insights help inspire your next trip to the Golden State!

Tell us a little about your trip and where you went! What region did you explore? How many days or miles did you trek?

I gathered some friends and we set off for an area none of us had explored before: California’s Trinity Alps Wilderness! We planned a three-night, four-day lollipop loop trail along a popular route known as the Four Lakes Loop. Our route had us traveling 22.5 miles with 8,000 feet of elevation gain and loss.

What got you excited about this trip? What are some unique features about the location?

I was super excited to visit the Trinity Alps because I was looking for a little more greenery than my usual High Sierra trips. And, we found it! It was so nice to hike through the more dense forest on the approach to our first campsite at Granite Lake. Something really cool about the Trinity Alps is the combination of granite and metamorphic rock, and it was really fun to see the two layers of rock combining at Seven Up Pass!

Tell us a little about how you packed for this trip. What backpack did you use? Was there any gear that was particularly useful for it? How much did your pack weigh?

I brought my usual ultralight set-up for this trip! 

Since it was in the middle of a hot summer, I didn’t bring as many clothes as usual, and brought my 40°F quilt. I just had my hiking clothes, a rain jacket, an extra pair of socks, baselayer bottoms, and a Senchi Polartec alpha fleece for warmth at night.

I used my G4-20 backpack, my The Two tent, and my LT5 trekking poles for this trip. Despite not being required to have a bear canister, I brought my small BV450 for convenience. Next time, I’d probably bring my Ursack instead.

My pack weight was right around 22 pounds with all food, gear, and 1.5 liters of water to start.

What were some of the highlights of the trip?

Swimming in Diamond Lake after two sweltering climbs for the day, and watching the sun set and rise on the mountain ridge from our campsite near the lake. Pure bliss!

What were some of the trip’s challenges? What might you do differently next time?

The biggest challenge was the heat and the climbs. The climb up Seven Up Pass from Granite Lake was very overgrown and we were doing a little bushwhacking. It was not the best trail for wearing shorts!

I was also stung by a wasp on the second climb of the day on my rear-end while walking! I opened up my first aid kit and realized the bite and sting pad I had in there was completely dried up. Luckily, I did have Benadryl with me. It was a good reminder to regularly inspect your first aid kit supplies to see if they’re actually good!

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If you’d like to follow along with more of Emily’s adventures, you can find her on Instagram and her website.

Have your own stories from having some type 2 fun in a new wilderness area? We’d love to hear them! Share your tales with us by tagging Gossamer Gear on social media (@gossamergear) and using the hashtag #takelessdomore.

Looking for more outdoor adventure inspiration? Check out some of our other articles on the Light Feet blog:

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