Lower South Fork River Trail

Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Click for map

I was a little worried what the state of the county road serving this trail along the South Fork Trinity River might be, especially for the last mile after it encounters the long, "good" forest road. When I got to it, I found it in better shape than the one I'd been driving. It is good unpaved road all the way to the end, which is just a slight bulge surrounded by a dark forest. It took a moment to find the well signed trailhead back at the start of the bulge.

01: one car at the end of the road — Indecisive over the proper orientation to park here.

As this is about 20 miles from the nearest pavement whichever way one comes, I was a bit worried it might be faint. Nope! It looks used and the few trees down look somewhat recent, at least in the first mile.

02: trail among tall pines — Rather clear trail as it skirts a piece of private property.

It's a while to the first view of the river. Had I been slowed down by having to walk the mile of road, the sun would have been higher, but my plan was foiled by that good road.

05: green water — A little past that first view from the trail high up steep treed hillside.

06: shadowed line of thick water — The upstream view is still decidedly shaded.

I had looked on the map at all the little blue lines I would be crossing and got lazy about carrying water. Sure, they were all dashed, but one of them would have some. I started with only a liter.

08: dry stream bed — Fording the decidedly dry stream.

10: huge leaning madrone — A huge madrone leans out into space over the river.

A little short of a mile, the trail finds its way down to a low bench with easy access to the river below. Right about at a mile, there is a use trail to take advantage of that access. I had seen a long trail down by the river heading back to that first turn, which looks to have deep water, and this is probably the start of if.

12: oaks in grass — The trail is just a few feet above the large gravel bars of South Fork Trinity River.

14: water through madrone leaves — Water close at hand, at least with the zoom.

After that first mile, the trail hit a particularly bad patch of overgrown brush and downed trees and I sure hoped the next 3 miles wouldn't be like that. Fortunately it was short lived. While the trail beyond probably doesn't get quite as much use, it is certainly not unused.

15: regrowth around the trail — The wide corridor cut through the regrowth after the 2008 Lime Fire stops up where there are downed trees.

19: small red flakes curling up — The small chunks of curling, peeling bark of one huge madrone.

20: dry stream — Past another dry stream bed.

21: green lines — Lines of moss, or is that liverwort?, on some bark.

I did spot a place where it would be very easy to go the wrong way on the way back.

23: trail (right) and not (left) — Note to self: Remember this spot! Trail is to the right, over the log, not to the left.

24: dry stream — Edging along another dry stream before crossing it.

Quite unexpectantly, at least if following along the line provided by the Forest Service, the trail pops out over a huge flood plain and then takes a steep route down to meet it. (The green line on the map above is the Forest Service's current claim for the route of this trail that can be downloaded from their ArcGIS. Note how it goes very differently.) The trail surface reinforced with caged rocks to withstand the erosion that would otherwise plague it make it very clear this is the built trail.

25: much flat ahead — Ready for a sudden drop? The flood plain is only seen through the trees until down on it.

27: downward — A little more view from the reinforced trail, including flat on the far side of the river.

28: lots of grass — Down on the flood plain.

I stood at the bottom, certain that there could be any number of trails that all look just as official as the other up ahead. How would I know where to find the way up again? The map tells me the trail takes a high route up and around a cliff at the outside of a hairpin turn on the river. The place to go back up could be anywhere along this long plain!

31: dry grass — Trail through the grass with a curve of river.

For its part, the trail went a few hundred feet before splitting into equally likely routes. I chose the one that stayed nearest the slopes where it presumably climbs again. The first possible trail up didn't go anywhere. A little later, I tried a less steep area to just see if I could meet the trail up there.

32: much plain and cliffs in the distance — Presumably it climbs back up sometime before the cliffs ahead.

33: ferns — Through a thin patch of ferns.

Trails collect again where the plain narrows and changes levels. There's another promising spot that almost looks like trail climbing just before this drop between plains.

35: opening in vegetation — Wait, why is it a drop to the upper flood plain? I must have been climbing.

37: telephone line through a white insulator — Someone strung a telephone line through here once.

38: water — Water! A small pool along an otherwise very dry stream bed. Hard to get to.

I continued along the grassy gravel bars of the flood plain, poking ever closer to where the water runs along the bottom of a cliff cutting off travel. Travel was blocked far before that by blackberry brambles. Some trails make a start going through these, but new sprigs of thorns cross over them. More difficult growths are by the river, but I found a rather clean area to get down to it. There's a trail there, of course.

40: open space — The ridge up ahead is actually a fin of higher land (with camp sites) and the river is beyond.

41: dry rocky line — The very dry stream bed that somehow feeds that pool.

42: a lot of South Fork Trinity River water — Out on a rock near the side of South Fork Trinity River

The river looks fine, except for the crayfish strutting around in it. Is it safe to drink? If there's been a cyanobacteria bloom upstream, possibly not. There's some sort of green algae looking stuff in it. Is it actually "blue-green algae"? I wouldn't know. It's been overly hot for over 2 weeks and is the end of summer/beginning of fall besides. It's certainly the time such an issue would become a problem. I nursed my little bit of water and didn't grab more.

43: little red lobster — Surely the cyanotoxins would be killing off the invasive signal crayfish if present in sufficient quantities to be harmful?

From this point, other options for getting to the reported end of the trail look possible. Specifically, crossing the river, a short wander on the gravel on the far side below the steep slopes of the fin left by the winding river, then cross back over when there are gravel bars on this side again. There is also a perennial creek over there, a little up river. It happens to be labeled Sulphur Glade Creek. Nom.

46: deeper water — Downstream looks like a fine bit of water.

47: far side river ledge — Most of the far side is a root guarded step, but there's a spot that isn't quite so much work to go up.

50: roots along the edge — Making a study of the far side roots.

I wandered back, choosing different paths this time. I passed a number of fire rings, some not used in a few years. This is clearly a reasonably common camping area.

51: lot of flat — You could make a camp just about anywhere as long as the river isn't about to flood.

53: post in the ground — I spotted a post from afar and had a look. Does this mean I made it to the French Ranch after all?

54: cliffs — Looking across to the fin of land surrounded by the hairpin turn of the river.

56: edge of slightly higher ground — The slightly higher ground also boasts flatter sleeping areas.

57: blue bird — That could be the same California scrub jay from just up the hill yesterday.

I got blocked by vegetation from continuing along my alternate path, so doubled back to take the known good route up the hill to the next flat. This time as I passed the possible trail, I decided to take it. It starts off well enough, but then is steep and loose and definitely not a trail. I kept going anyway to see if I could meet trail above.

60: nice slope — A nice slope to a bit of animal trail that really isn't a built trail.

The steep stuff tops out on a flat. I followed animal trail around the edge and out onto it, where the animals making it each went a separate way. Somewhere up there, according to the Forest Service line, is trail. I didn't see it, but it is the kind of area that can easily lose a trail under a bit of duff. I looked for blazes, but noticed none.

62: trees on the flat — If there is trail up here, I can't find it. There is plenty of evidence of the fire that passed through.

Having not found an alternate route to follow back, I had to carefully make a way down the very steep hill. I took a more direct trail across the flat, passing more camps. An island of brambles helps mark the location of the trail up.

65: first flat with trail — Lots of possible sleeping spots on the first flat.

66: chain link trail — Back up the cribbing on the steep trail.

67: scratched madrone — I believe bears have been scratching at this madrone.

Back across that dry creek with the trail on its edge, I had a look at what has a faint resemblance to old trail going a different direction. Or it's just old stream bed/flood plain.

68: trail possible — Could trail really go that way? Well, once, anyway?

I spotted the first blaze just past that point, but I hadn't been looking that hard. I hadn't spotted any blazes on the way in nor did I find any for that direction near the blazes I saw on the way out.

69: bark cut into — Ta da! A blaze. This trail has been in this location for quite some time.

70: little bird — The chestnut-backed chickadees flew past and one stuck around for photos.

As I passed the first river access point, I decided to have a closer look. The river was nice and bright and sunny although some was thinking about getting back in shadow again.

73: green water — The water certainly has growths in it here.

75: dark bird in the shadows — The American dipper dips through without a problem.

78: green goop — This green goop has certain similarities to dangerous algae shown in this information on the Eel River.

79: green scum in a pool — And there's pools of water cut off from the river that look worse, but the frogs happily jump into it for safety.

83: gravel — It's a long gravel walk over to the pools under the just visible cliffs.

I retreated from the sun once more into the low oaks and then higher pines to return to the car.

85: line of water — Looking down on South Fork Trinity River once more.

86: little bird on the bark — A brown creeper.

89: deep hole — Deep down there where the rocks have fallen in.

90: water in shadow — One last look at the river.

91: signs — It is not such a dark forest at the trailhead now. The signs don't agree on the trail name. Lower South Fork River Trail on the left, Lower South Fork Trail on the right.

*photo album*

Comments

Chris Valle-Riestra said…

Google Earth imagery gives no hint of there currently being any buildings or activity at French Ranch. There are three buildings shown on the topo maps, and I believe that's from a 1982 survey. The 1982 edition shows an additional trail, not appearing on the 1998 edition, north of French Ranch, descending to run along gravel bars on the east side of the river. This might have been what you followed. But it's not at all clear that this would have furnished access to French Ranch. There must have been some kind of trail to it. I wonder where?

Old maps show a trail continuing south on the east side of the river all the way to tie in with known trails at the McClellan Place. Google Earth reveals a road to McClellan Place, running down the west bank of the river on the alignment of trail 7E37, as shown on topo maps. Many buildings and lots of agricultural activity at the McClellan Place. It might be easiest to search for the old trail by starting there, but one would have to be on good terms with the owners of the private property.

The South Fork Trinity River is kind of remarkable for having so many long, long stretches that are in a semi-wild state, many with trails. From headwaters near the Yolla Bolly Mtns. all the way to Surprise Cr., not too many miles from the confluence with the main stem Trinity River.

04 November, 2024 18:20

Valerie Norton said…

Ah, I see that extra trail in the scanned topos on Caltopo. According to this site, the trail was "recently" (dated 2016) rebuilt by the Watershed Center in Hayfork (same ones that built the interpretive trail at Philpot). That says 4 miles walk, but what I did was 3. There's an extra mile in the big loop around the cliff. Maybe the person writing the page was only working from the map and didn't know, though. I'm starting to wonder if there's not someone at the Watershed Center to chat with. They did weed abatement around my car while I did the north end of East Tule Creek, but they didn't stick around long enough to meet.

Here, before Hayfork Creek enters the river, it isn't such a bad crossing. The area struck me as a great place for a camping oriented backpacking trip, so long as you can trust the water. (It's probably fine.) Lots of room to explore and play in the water.

I was wondering what one could do to hike the river, but only got as far as seeing there's many stretches with no road or trail. The historic layers on Caltopo are a bit lacking. I'll have to download a few really old 30' maps and see what they have.

07 November, 2024 14:17

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