The Trinity Alps Wilderness is a designated wilderness located in northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, roughly between

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

and Redding. It is jointly administered by Shasta-Trinity,

Klamath Klamath may refer to: Ethnic groups *Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon **Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon *Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people Places in the United States * ...

, and Six Rivers National Forests. About are administered by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

. The wilderness is located in the Salmon and Scott Mountains, subranges of the Klamath Mountains region. The high,

granitic A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quart ...

and ultramafic peaks of the eastern half of the

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

are known as the

Trinity Alps The Trinity Alps are a mountain range in Trinity County and Siskiyou County in Northern California. They are a subrange of the Klamath Mountains located to the north of Weaverville. Geography The Trinity Alps are within the Pacific Coast Ran ...

. Granite peaks at the core of the area are known as the White Trinities, reddish ultramafic peaks in the southeast are known as the Red Trinities, and the forested mountains in the western half of the wilderness are known as the Green Trinities.

Flora and fauna

The botanical diversity of the Trinity Alps is quite unique. The region has intrigued botanists for many years because of the predominance of the Sierran flora only from the Pacific Ocean. Conifers common in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

such as

foxtail pine ''Pinus balfouriana'', the foxtail pine, is a rare high-elevation pine that is endemic to California, United States. It is closely related to the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, in the subsection ''Balfourianae''. Descriptio ...

lodgepole pine ''Pinus contorta'', with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, ...

western white pine Western white pine (''Pinus monticola''), also called silver pine and California mountain pine, is a species of pine in the family Pinaceae. It occurs in mountain ranges of northwestern North America. It is the state tree of Idaho. Description ...

whitebark pine ''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine ...

ponderosa pines ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is th ...

red fir ''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...

s, and

white fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain range ...

s are also common in the Alps alongside the endemic Brewer spruce. Large wildfires swept through the western forests in recent years. Wildlife species include

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

s, black-tailed deer, cougars, coyotes, and bobcats. Bears are common in the wilderness, so use a bear bag or

bear canister Bear-resistant food storage containers, also called bear canisters or bear cans, are usually hard-sided containers used by backpackers to protect their food from theft by bears. Bear canisters are seeing increased popularity in areas where bears ...

Geology

Glacial cirques dominate the high country. The highest point is

Thompson Peak Thompson Peak may refer to one of these mountain peaks: *Thompson Peak (Arizona), a McDowell Mountains summit 20 miles from Phoenix with amateur and Maricopa County government radio towers accessible via a service road from Fountain Hills () * Thom ...

at 9,001 ft (2,744 m).

Recreation

The wilderness contains approximately of hiking trails, including of the

Pacific Crest Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...

and of the Bigfoot Trail. The most popular entry points into the wilderness are from the Weaverville area around Trinity Lake or from Junction City. Additional routes are seasonally accessible by car from the north and west. The paved road north from Junction City leads to the Canyon Creek trail, the most popular trail in the wilderness. The longest trails take several days to complete. The Pacific Crest Trail traverses the Scott Mountains in the northeast portion of the wilderness. Glacial cirques hold many small lakes stocked with trout and ponds frequented by newts. Streams offer trout fishing, and tributaries to the lower Trinity River hold migratory steelhead and chinook salmon. Hunting occurs in late summer and fall for deer, bear, and bandtailed pigeon. Although some of the high lakes are popular in summer, most of the land is infrequently visited. Many of the trails are in poor condition and hard to follow, so skills with map and compass are essential. Rock climbing opportunities are excellent on vast granite slabs and peaks. Historic gold mining structures and relics add interest for visitors in various parts of the wilderness. Gold panning continues to be good for the experienced amateur. Granite Peak is a good destination for views as well as Silligo peak, on the Four Lakes Loop. Trinity Lake is visible to the south, and much of the rest of the area is visible as well. Remnants of the old lookout station remain.

Private land

Until recently, about of private land (

inholding An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of a national park, national forest, state park, or similar publicly owned, protected area. In-holdings result from private ownership of lands predating the designation of the park or fores ...

s) remained within the Trinity Alps Wilderness. Purchases by the

Wilderness Land Trust The Wilderness Land Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Helena, MT, whose mission is to acquire private lands (inholdings) in current and proposed wilderness areas and transfer them to the federal government so that they will be ...

have reduced this acreage by more than 40 percent.

References

External links

Trinity Alps Wilderness
- Wilderness Connect
The Wilderness Land TrustThe Trinity Alps - Celebrating 30 years of wilderness designation
{{Authority control Wilderness areas of California Klamath Mountains Protected areas of Humboldt County, California Protected areas of Siskiyou County, California Protected areas of Trinity County, California Klamath National Forest Shasta-Trinity National Forest Six Rivers National Forest Protected areas established in 1984 1984 establishments in California