Trinity Alps, August 20, 2006:
Still poking around the edges of the PNW. Northwestern California is an incredible mix of diverse landscape and out of the way places. It is easy to forget that you are in the country's most populous state while hiking around the interior of the Siskiyou-Klamath mountains. Spent four days on a loop through a small section of the Trinity Alps wilderness. Saw nobody else for the vast majority of this time. Trails shown on the maps disappear as they head up and over subalpine ridges. Beautiful granite peaks. Lingering snows from the record snowfall of 2005-06 persist. Is THIS the Pacific Northwest? Sure, I think so. But where is the edge? Does it matter?