Cabins: High Ridges to Hull Cabin Site

Shasta-Trinity National Forest

Klamath National Forest

DAY 1  |  DAY 2  |  DAY 3

Tan line for day 3. Click for interactive map

With morning it was time to deal with whatever exactly it was we had gotten ourselves into. Since I had splashed through the very last tributary crossing, I left my grungy socks on from the prior day so they could be the ones getting wet, then I found a way across without getting my feet wet and so didn't have to drag all that extra water uphill. I had a good look at the sign still mounted on a tree and couldn't make it mean anything other than the old ditch for the trail up.

Animals are short cutting a way to the ditch next to the sign and that remains the only trail-like thing to see.

Then there was the challenge of the log. There was suggestion of passing packs underneath, but the ground was soft and smooth and there was enough room to just wiggle along, pack and all. From there, it was clear. Well, there's a tributary to the tributary that has cut the ditch deeply and required a touch of a climb to exit the far side. But then it was clear. Clear of ditch in places, clear of much trail, clear of brush. Several animal trails were on offer and sometimes we passed a blaze cut into a tree and healed over again.

Pretty quickly to some little views.

Some blazes are very hard to see after 60-90 years. Give or take.

But we are totally on trail! For a bit. The trail bench and blaze show it to be so.

The now on trail, now not game ran into a batch of small trees standing entirely too close together and we decided to stay on the extremely well used game trail a little lower than the people trail is expected, at least until the next minor ridge.

On well used game trail passing the monarchs of the forest. They are a set of three particularly large trees: first incense cedar, then sugar pine, then Douglas fir.

Crossing back over the stream that cuts the trail, or at least the old ditch, far below. Now near its spring start.

We paused at the minor ridge to see if some quail would come out for a photo, but they snuck away through some brush as is their way.

The easterly view from the minor ridge.

Looking southwesterly shows there's still snow on those peaks beyond Cabin Peak, which is hiding behind a tuft of pine needles.

Finding the trail above wasn't hard. It is still well established there and was crossing above where we crossed. The part going back looked fine. Around the corner up ahead was a different story. This part of the mountain suffered devastating fire and now the standing dead are falling into the thick underbrush to create travel obstacles. Still, the evidence that the animals came this way too was quite thick. It is still likely the easiest way.

Most things get shorter in the burn area just past the minor ridge full of trees.

The way ahead is brushy, log blocked, and well used by animals.

We continued along, sometimes clambering upward to get around some mess, often seeing something looking like trail below. At one point, while climbing over one log up in the air, I grabbed a rotted branch for support and ended up falling backward and a few feet down onto my pack. It was only the third most painful thing of the day.

Almost arrived at a tree I've been fixating on up on the minor ridge ahead.

Somehow all of that delivered us fairly directly, admittedly with a lot of extra time and work to get there, at another ridge with a different landscape showing beyond.

Townsend's solitaire looks on at the poor ground bound creatures.

The forest up ahead contains some fire killed trees, but plenty more green ones.

A ridge line interesting enough to have developed a trail, although not official.

Down the side and westerly looking to the Salmon Mountains.

My feet were feeling gritty, so I put on some clean socks. They didn't help. On the other hand, the trail ahead only had one tree down and that with an easy walk around well established.

Black morels grow along this trail.

There are some scruffy spots, but they're still good trail.

We passed over a couple streams on the way. Undoubtedly, one is the headwaters of the North Fork Trinity River. It was a much easier crossing than the one the day before.

North Fork Trinity River flows below.

Things got rocky and the flowers more interesting as we crossed below Ray's Peak.

More trail, now across the rocks.

Okay, so it's just another narrowleaf blue-eyed Mary in an nearly white variation.

Sticky current near the probable head of the North Fork Trinity River.

Just missing the heart-leaf milkweed flowers. (Unless it's serpentine milkweed, which would be really cool but a bit far north.)

A more extensive view of the North Fork Trinity River.

Off along a beautiful section of trail.

The trail splits as it enters the trees near the far saddle along Ray's Peak. Officially, it goes down to a spring and Cold Spring Camp. Perhaps the other bypasses the drop. Both looked thin and I lost the trail going down fairly quickly. I may well have missed a switchback. Again.

Heading downward but missing trail.

Cold Spring Camp is on a slope, but flats have been dug out above the spring.

Trail up is easy enough to find, coming off the spring rather than the camp. I managed to miss a switchback, but this time by accidentally getting on the shortcut instead. At the top, the trail is fire obscured and indistinct again. The junction with Ray's Gulch Trail might be there, faintly. There were two options for it. Maybe the other is the return of a high trail.

Back the way we came with the snowy Pony Mountain and Thurston Peaks showing above that ridge line where the trail got better.

Meanwhile, our trail got to wandering the south side of some more ridges. Now there were multiple animal trails that compete well with the people trail. Someone added a flag to a blazed tree that got me started on the correct trail, but later I had to march up the hill to find the people one again. But it was a beautiful ridge walk.

Ray's Peak retreats behind us. It would have been a nice feather in the cap as it is another P1K, as the peak baggers say.

Dwarf purple monkeyflowers show up in thin patches of tiny flowers.

Clouds forming over the Russian Mountains.

Rays Peak with the many taller peaks behind. Thurston Peaks on the right, Russian Peaks on the left, and Trinity Alps behind.

Siskiyou fritillary, unless it is actually a spotted one.

An orange sulphur stops by some flowers.

The clouds echo the shape of the snowy, and near less snowy, peaks.

Cecil Lake Point up ahead and, somewhere out there, where we first crossed this ridge two days before.

Trail got easy to follow again as it neared and wrapped around to the north side of the ridge. I could even see where trail used to go and has been abandoned.

Everything off to the north.

On good, easy to follow trail.

Just a short missing spot of trail as one rounds the north side of Cecil Lake Point, but there's another trail option above.

Almost back, overlooking the valley of the Salmon River.

As we came down off Cecil Lake Point, the trail transitioned into something scruffy. Trees were down and someone had flagged routes around the worst of it. Some spots of the trail have become gullies. It was once more hard to follow. I guess this trail really does alternate between good and bad as it goes.

Coming down to the Hull Cabin area once more, the cabin being long gone.

The trail wasn't where we'd expected it. It actually joined the trail to the lake. It was declared we didn't have enough time to pop up to the lake, even though it was about 400 feet away. So no lake. I wonder if we might not have ended up taking this loop if we had investigated the trail back a little before going. Even this day was grand overall with its ridge walks although the start was iffy and the next bit mildly torturous. With the big day to start, my legs were ready to be done.


*photo album*




©2026 Valerie Norton
Published 18 Jun 2026