Advice for a trip into Lassen or Trinity Alps

[justm]

My friend and I are planning a trip into Lassen or Trinity alps over the labor day weekend. Here is our info:
Backpacking -level 4
Terrain-class 3
Our main interests are fishing, forests, photography and with Lassen-volcnic features
We would drive up early on Thursday 8-30 for the first day of backpacking from the bay area and come back on 9-4. So basically 5 nights.
Thanks for your suggestions!

[balzaccom]

If you are after fishing, few of the lakes in Lassen have self-sustaining populations of trout...and the lakes are not planted. I'd aim for the Trinity Alps.

[justm]

Thanks, I heard about the lakes, but I hear the creeks have fish.. like the King creek?

[rlown]

well.. right now, Trinity would have less smoke, given the fire up along HWY 44.

[dave54]

Much of Lassen is closed now due to the fire. Unlikely the closure will end by then.

[dave54]

Much of Lassen is closed now due to the fire. Unlikely the closure will end by then.

[kpeter]

I cannot advise you on fishing, since I have not fished in California. But I have been into the Trinity Alps and thoroughly enjoyed them. It was a very interesting place, with several radically different geological zones and climate zones all coming together. Following are some scans of the slides I took of that trip 25 years ago.

I did use Luther Linkhart's guidebook when I was planning my Trinity Alps trip and found it well written. My 1986 edition says that fishing in Granite Lake for eastern brook trout 10-11 inches was still good. And that information is probably worthless by now. The same book notes rainbow and brook to 10" in Summit Lake. So it would be worth getting more current information on the fishing in those lakes--but at one point they were fished.

The trip we took was a 5 day shuttle trip. I was hiking with my elderly father at the time so we took it relatively easy. We entered at the Swift Creek trailhead which is on the eastern side off of highway 3. We hiked in to Granite Lake the first day.

Trinity Alps-4.jpg

Trinity Alps-5.jpg

Trinity Alps-6.jpg

Then over the pass near Seven-Up peak and a second pass near Siligo Peak to camp at Summit Lake on day 2.

Trinity Alps-2.jpg

Trinity Alps-3.jpg

On Day 3 we took a day off and dayhiked up Siligo Peak. Day 4 we hiked over Bee Tree gap and camped at the head of Long Canyon. Then Day 5 it was out Long Canyon to pick up our second car at the Long Canyon Trailhead.

[justm]

thank you kpeter, and all of you for the helpful info. I'm changing locals now and thinking of heading either to Red mountain basin or graveyard lakes in the sierras if I can get permits. Thanks for the info!!