Trip Date: October 29-31, 2020

2020 CALIFORNIA & UTAH ADVENTURE VACATION

Siligo Peak Climbing Trip & Four Lakes Trail Loop

Long Canyon
Bee Tree Gap
Deer Creek Pass
Siligo Peak (8143 ft) 
Summit Lake
Diamond Lake
Luella Lake
Deer Lake

Trip Report Summary

Region: California

Sub-Region: Klamath Mountains

Sub-Sub-Region: Trinity Alps

Areas: Shasta–Trinity National Forest & Trinity Alps Wilderness

Starting & Ending Point: Long Canyon Trailhead at end of Long Canyon spur road (Elev. 3800 feet)

Way Points: East Stuart Fork & Long Canyon Meadow & Bee Tree Gap & Deer Creek Pass & Siligo Pass & Summit Lake & Diamond Gap & Diamond Lake & Luella Pass & Luella Lake & Deer Creek Meadow & Deer Lake & Deer Creek Pass (trail hike)

High Point: Diamond Gap (Elev. 7700 feet)

Campsites: Summit Lake (Elev. 7500 feet) & Long Canyon Meadow (Elev. 6800 feet)

Summit: Siligo Peak (ascent & descent via South Ridge)

Approximate Stats (excluding sidetrips): 17.5 miles traveled; 6200 feet gained & lost.

Approximate Stats (including sidetrips): 18.5 miles traveled; 7100 feet gained & lost.

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Full Trip Report

Eileen and Brooke and I kicked off our late-autumn vacation with a three-day backpacking trip in the Trinity Alps of Northern California.  We completed the Four Lakes Loop, which is one of the signature hikes in the “Trinities.”  Our hope in coming here was to avoid much of the wildfire smoke that was invading the Sierras and other parts of California.  It worked nicely, because we were blessed with fairly clear air and wonderful scenery in an unfamiliar locale.

Day 1: Trailhead to Summit Lake + Siligo Peak

Starting on a warm, bluebird morning, we hiked up the well-maintained Long Canyon Trail through pleasant redwood and ponderosa forest, passing three established campsites along the way.  Around Mile 3, the trail emerged from deep forest and entered open meadows in Long Canyon, below the craggy ridge of Gibson Peak.

Long Canyon follows a geologic contact between an igneous batholith on the north and a metamorphic mass on the south.  Interestingly, the igneous rock here spans the spectrum from granite (with mostly white or pink crystals) to diorite (“salt & pepper” rock) to gabbro (with entirely black crystals), all of which prompted me to chatter excitedly about plutonic petrology.

The metamorphic rock in Long Canyon—and throughout the Trinity Alps—consists of red-oxidized peridotite with scattered rinds of greenish serpentinite.  This geology closely matches that of Ingalls Peaks in the central Cascades, and as such, the terrain here also looks very similar.

The Trinity Alps’ resemblance to the Ingalls Peaks area is not restricted to geology;  the vegetation is also very similar.  As Brooke and I recently learned from two biologists on the Ingalls Pass Trail, the geochemistry of peridotite creates a soil mantle that supports a very specialized plant assemblage.  One of these plants is the adorable little Shasta fern, which grows prolifically among the outcrops and boulders.

The trail led us over Bee Tree Gap to 7550-foot Deer Creek Pass (5.0 hours + 3850 feet from TH).  From there, we looked up at Siligo Peak and down at Deer Lake—the first of the four key lakes.  There are actually five lakes along the trail loop, but apparently only four of them have gained recognition.

A short traverse around the head of Deer Lake took us to Siligo Pass, overlooking Summit Lake—largest of the five lakes.  Brooke continued down to the lake to shoot some alpenglow photos, whereas Eileen and I dropped our backpacks and made an easy (Class 1-2) ascent of Siligo Peak.

Siligo Peak comprises a granite cap sitting atop a peridotite base, with a steep wall on the eastern side.  Thanks to its position at the center of the trail loop, the summit provides a nice view of four named lakes, as well as surrounding granitic ridges (called the “White Trinities”) and peridotite ridges (called the “Red Trinities”).  Mt. Shasta was barely visible in the distant haze.

Eileen and I returned to Siligo Pass in late afternoon (1.0 hours + 450 feet RT from pass), then hiked down to Summit Lake.  Upon arrival (7.0 hours + 4650 feet from TH), I found the lake bowl ablaze with evening light, and Brooke posted up on the shoreline with her tripod.

We hadn’t seen another hiker all day, and there was only one tent pitched at the lake.  Our three-person tent fit nicely into one of the several other established campsites, from which we watched the sun sink slowly below the western horizon.

Day 2: Summit Lake to Long Canyon Meadow + Siligo Peak

We had feared that offshore smoke might drift in from the west during the night, but the morning sky was still clear.  We broke camp and hiked back up to Siligo Pass.  Eileen proceeded on our clockwise trek around the loop, while I headed back up Siligo Peak with Brooke.  On the summit, we were rewarded with even better visibility than yesterday afternoon.  Sawtooth Mountain and Little Granite Peak stood out clearly to the west, and Mt. Shasta could now be seen poking its snow-free crown above Seven-Up Peak to the northeast.

After returning to Siligo Pass, Brooke and I hiked over to 7700-foot Diamond Gap—the high point of the entire trail loop—and down to Diamond Lake.  I judged this to be the most picturesque of the five lakes, due to its sweeping grass slopes and striking view of the “White Trinities” across the valley.  Eileen was waiting for us by the shore.

Continuing around the loop, we hiked over Luella Pass and down to Luella Lake (4.0 hours + 1200 feet from Camp 1).  It was now quite warm, so Brooke and I jumped into the inviting water.  We both came up screaming in shock at the coldness of the water!  Brooke managed to paddle around for several minutes, but I couldn’t get out fast enough!

From Luella Lake, the trail switchbacks down to Deer Creek Meadow, skirts past tiny Round Lake, and then ascends steeply to Deer Lake (6.0 hours + 2000 feet from Camp 1).  The Friday afternoon atmosphere at this lake was almost raucous in comparison to the solitude of the other lakes;  there were four or five tents pitched near the shore, and a dozen or more backpackers milling about.

Although our original plan was to camp at Deer Lake, we elected to use our remaining daylight to hike back over Deer Creek Pass and Bee Tree Gap.  Camp 2 was established at 6800 feet in Long Canyon Meadow, shortly before dark (7.9 hours + 2400 feet from Camp 1).  A smoky haze obscured the eastern horizon.

Day 3: Long Canyon Meadow to Trailhead

We awoke to golden sun filling the meadow, and some smoke remaining in the eastern sky.  Thankfully, though, the Trinity Alps were still free of smoke.  During our hike out to the trailhead (2.0 hours from Camp 2), we passed numerous Saturday morning backpackers and day-trippers—all hoping for a breath of fresh air amidst this terrible wildfire season.

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Route Maps & Profile

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Photo Gallery

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