Re: Marble Mountains or Trinity Alps?
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:08 pm
In comparing the areas I think the core of the Trinity Alps is the best part of the Klamath Mountains from an alpine ruggedness standpoint. That having been said, it seems that the main routes in the Trinity Alps are more crowded than in the Marble Mtns or the nearby and smaller Russian Wilderness. In addition, various destinations are easier to string together on a trip to the Marbles than to the Trinity Alps--part of this is the fact that the topographic relief is greater in the Trinity Alps, and part of it is where the trail systems are located. Cross country travel is certainly doable in the Klamaths, but things can get very brushy in many areas so that the degree of difficulty approaches that of NW Yosemite. The 2nd worst brush experience of my hiking days was getting to Hooligan Lake, one of the more remote off-trail destinations in the Marbles. On the other hand there are other off trail spots such as Maneaten Lake, Wooley Lake and the perched lakes above Deep Lake that do not really involve a lot of brush. In terms of scenery, although the Marbles are not as rugged as the Trinity Alps, the interesting topography and colors of the marble and other metamorphic rocks adds to the charm of the Marbles. In addition, the diversity of conifers is the best I've seen in any mountain region.
I think there are more fishing prospects (for larger fish) in the Marble Mtns. and Russian Wilderness than the Trinity Alps, although things may have changed since the early 90's since I last hiked and fished in the area (see below). One of the big problems with Klamath Mtn air drop policies in those days was that pretty much every lake I ever visited was overstocked--too many fish, so the sizes didn't tend to be that impressive. DFG folks I communicated with in those days told me that they assumed that there was no such thing as a self sustaining lake and thus air dropped every last one (how can a lake swarming with stunted skinny brookies be anything but self sustaining?). Eventually Judy and I became fed up with this and decided that it was not worth the extra driving time (then from the Bay Area) to get to places that didn't have near the lunker prospects as the Sierra. Thus my last hike in the Klamaths was a July 1993 trip (first trip was September 1976 to Big Blue L., Russian Wilderness) to the Marbles: a 4-day part off trail (and quite a bit of this over snow) trip that included Snyder Lake, Gold and Green Granite Lakes, the Cuddihy Lakes, Deadman, Pleasant, and Hooligan Lakes--none of those lakes had particularly big fish even though it was a fun trip. Even with the problem of overpopulated fisheries there were still some stand out lakes in all of the various Klamath wilderness areas. I am pretty curious to see how things have changed in light of new fisheries management practice (which I'm hoping has drastically reduced the stocking rate).
I think there are more fishing prospects (for larger fish) in the Marble Mtns. and Russian Wilderness than the Trinity Alps, although things may have changed since the early 90's since I last hiked and fished in the area (see below). One of the big problems with Klamath Mtn air drop policies in those days was that pretty much every lake I ever visited was overstocked--too many fish, so the sizes didn't tend to be that impressive. DFG folks I communicated with in those days told me that they assumed that there was no such thing as a self sustaining lake and thus air dropped every last one (how can a lake swarming with stunted skinny brookies be anything but self sustaining?). Eventually Judy and I became fed up with this and decided that it was not worth the extra driving time (then from the Bay Area) to get to places that didn't have near the lunker prospects as the Sierra. Thus my last hike in the Klamaths was a July 1993 trip (first trip was September 1976 to Big Blue L., Russian Wilderness) to the Marbles: a 4-day part off trail (and quite a bit of this over snow) trip that included Snyder Lake, Gold and Green Granite Lakes, the Cuddihy Lakes, Deadman, Pleasant, and Hooligan Lakes--none of those lakes had particularly big fish even though it was a fun trip. Even with the problem of overpopulated fisheries there were still some stand out lakes in all of the various Klamath wilderness areas. I am pretty curious to see how things have changed in light of new fisheries management practice (which I'm hoping has drastically reduced the stocking rate).