61. Canyon Creek Lakes and Boulder Creek Lakes

Length:	23.2 miles round trip
Hiking time:	3 to 4 days
High point:	6,350 feet
Total elevation gain:	4,500 feet
Difficulty:	strenuous
Season:	mid-June to early October
Water:	available from lakes and creeks; purify first
Maps:	USGS 7.5' Mount Hilton, USFS Trinity Alps Wilderness
Information:	Weaverville Ranger District, Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Surround yourself with steep, jagged granite peaks. Sunbathe on flat, house-sized granite slabs. Wander through lush meadows. Swim in deep, cool lakes. This trip offers all this and more as it takes you deep into the Trinity Alps. It's also a very popular trek, so try to avoid weekends, especially the 3- and 4-day variety.

Take Highway 299 to Junction City, 8 miles northwest of Weaverville, then turn east on Canyon Creek Road 75 yards southeast of the Junction City bridge. Drive 13.2 miles on the mostly paved road that follows Canyon Creek to the Canyon Creek trailhead.

The trail starts level amid ferns, dogwoods, bigleaf maples, madrones, Douglas firs, and canyon live oaks. It crosses Bear Creek at 0.3 mile and then steepens. Pass a madrone tree at 0.8 mile, then gently climb through a forest of ponderosa pine, black oak, incense cedar, and more madrone. Take the 10-yard spur trail to the left at 2.4 miles for a commanding vista of the sprawling basin, which contains a white-water stretch of Canyon Creek far below high granite peaks. At 2.8 miles, consider the 0.2 mile side-trail option to The Sinks, a series of swirling pools in Canyon Creek. Otherwise, bear right, climb past a lichen-carpeted granite rock wall, then ascend a series of switchbacks that crosses the same tributary three times. Watch for a campsite on the left at 3.9 miles, where you can admire a small waterfall cascading into a round, clear pool. Also, look for Lower Canyon Creek Falls crashing into a deep pool a short distance downstream.

The trail gently climbs past a fern community for 0.8 mile and then enters a small corn lily field in Canyon Creek Meadow at 4.9 miles. Cross several tributaries and climb through forest to a trail fork at 6.1 miles. The left trail goes 2.4 miles to Boulder Creek Lakes (described later).

Go right to the more-visited Canyon Creek Lakes. Climb through a 0.6-mile stretch of open forest, followed by magnificent, misty Upper Canyon Creek Falls. The final leg to Lower Canyon Creek Lake gradually switchbacks between granite boulders and across granite slopes and crosses Canyon Creek before reaching the lake itself at 7.5 miles. Be very careful crossing Canyon Creek, especially during periods of high water flow. Once on the west side of Lower Canyon Creek Lake, you'll find several campsites with good eastward views of Sawtooth Mountain. On hot days, this clear, deep lake offers chilly refreshment to swimmers. To get to the less-visited Upper Canyon Creek Lake, follow the rock ducks (cairns) past the campsites on the west side, travel a faint path through forest, then reach several campsites near Upper Canyon Creek Lake's south shore. The path continues, crossing at 8.2 miles the stream linking Upper Canyon Creek Lake with its lower sibling. From the lake's east shores, you'll have magnificent views of the meadow surrounding the higher reaches of Canyon Creek and the high granite peaks and ridges to the north, including Thompson Peak, the highest mountain in the Trinity Alps at 9,002 feet.

Continue northeast to Ell Lake from Upper Canyon Creek Lake's north side. The moderate 1-mile-long climb requires following rock ducks that lead directly to the lake, which is tucked into a narrow, glacier-carved slot bordered by steep granite. Seldom-visited Ell Lake offers a few campsites on the west side. Explore the meadows next to the north shore that encompass a circular pond.

For the 2.4-mile climb to Boulder Creek Lakes, retrace your steps to the earlier mentioned trail junction at 6.1 miles. Wade Canyon Creek, then go left. (The spur trail on the right leads to a campsite.) The trail heads southwest past a marsh and then ascends moderately through ceanothus and manzanita chaparral and a few stands of sugar pine, western white pine, ponderosa pine, and incense cedar. It eventually carves steeply through a thicket on the south-facing mountainside, routing you to a sheer, black cliff. Pick up the rock ducks here that head right of the cliff for another 0.3 mile to the lakes.

Boulder Creek Lakes, nestled in a glacial bowl and surrounded by high granite peaks, feature moist meadows, red mountain heather, yarrow, dwarfed western white pines, red firs, mountain hemlocks, and the rare weeping spruce. Tiny pools and small brooks surround the small lower lake on the southeast section of the basin. Look for powerful waterfalls that pour from the large Boulder Creek Lake's outlet and topple off a granite cliff.

You'll find a few campsites near the eastern shore of the larger Boulder Creek Lake and a couple of makeshift spots near three ponds. The shallow lakes and ponds receive a lot of summer sun, making long swims in the warm water very pleasant.