July 2-4, 2005
In the heart of the Klamath National Forest lie the pristine wild lands of the Marble Mountain and Russian Wilderness areas. The Marble Mountain Wilderness is one of California's oldest formally designated wilderness areas (established 1931), containing over 225000 acres of mountainous terrain, diverse vegetation and high elevation lakes and streams. It is named for Marble Mountain, a monolith of white limestone standing 6880 ft. above sea level.
What is a wilderness?
Roughly speaking, wilderness areas are remote and difficult to get to, contain no shelters or other conveniences or services. You enter fully prepared to look after yourself for the entire duration of your visit. In return, you will experience primitive earth.
Location
The Marble Mountain Wilderness area lies in Northwest California in Siskiyou County, about 50 miles south of the Oregon border. Our gateway to the area was through the Ranger station at Fort Jones, which is 15 miles on Hwy 3 from Yreka, Ca. The town of Yreka lies on Interstate-5.
Fortunately, the road to the Lovers Camp Trail Head was fully paved and we could get an early start at 9:30 am on Saturday (July 2, 2005). Our route is marked on the map below by the yellow dotted line. Blue circles mark the 2 campsites. The white mountain icon (with pointing blue arrow that spans the U-shaped window) is the approximate direction of Mt. Shasta from the Little Elk Lake trail.
The weight of our backpacks ranged from 30-50 lbs. Entry permits are not required for exploring the wilderness, but campfire permits are mandatory even if you only intend using your stove. Bear Resistant Containers are not required. However, all food and similar items need to be hung high on trees well away from the campsite.
Bear
proof food bag hung high
Day 1: Lovers Camp (approx. 4000 ft.) to Lower Sky High Lake (approx. 6000 ft.) by Canyon Creek trail which progresses southwest towards Marble Valley before turning south east towards the lakes. Much of the trail parallels the creek and is thickly wooded. The area around the lakes was flat grassland with plenty of wildflowers forming a beautiful landscape. We took a leisurely 4 hours to get to the campsite from the trail head.
Lower
Sky High Lake
After lunch and setting up tent by Lower Sky High Lake, we enjoyed a brisk hike (helped by the weight of our backs) uphill to view Marble Mountain up close, passing several snowpacked trail sections along the way.This trail offered stunning views of the three lakes (Frying Pan Lake (because it is shaped like one), Lower and Upper Sky High Lakes) surrounding mountains as well as naturally growing wildflower gardens...and the occasional lost hiker traversing the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) from Canada to Mexico. The PCT passes through several well known California landmarks like Lassen National Park, Trinity Alps, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
Marble
Mountain
Distance covered on Day 1 : Approximately 7 miles.
Day 2: Mostly on PCT traversing east (towards Mexico if you intended to stay on PCT) climbing to about 6400 feet. After the initial sharp climb, the trail stays level for the most part before sharply descending through switchbacks to Summit Lake.
Summit
Lake
Again, we hiked at a leisurely pace and took all of 4 hours to complete the 6-7 miles. We camped right next to the lake in a wooded area less exposed to the sun than the previous day. Mosquitoes were present in large numbers and inflicted several bites. Some of us hiked to nearby Campbell lake while the rest relaxed in tranquil atmosphere.
Day 3: The longest and most adventurous. The Little Elk Trail is not a maintained trail but a use trail that requires constant attention to the landscape and much decision making. Thankfully the trail is marked by rocks piled together by previous users. These ad hoc stone formations are a reassuring sight that let you know that you are not lost. If you don't see these occasional stone piles, you are probably lost. The rugged and steep climb up the unnamed mountain pass offers the scenic beauty of wildflowers and a dramatic view of Mount Shasta with Shastina directly in front through a U-shaped valley.
Mount
Shasta
As you gain in elevation you can also view Summit Lake and Campbell Lake in a sweeping vista. The trail crests at about 6400 feet. and descends steeply on the other side. We avoided the snow packed sections of the trail by scrambling down the hillside. The trail levels out in a beautiful green grass field. It is quite difficult to stay on track but for the occasional stone markers. By noon we reached Little Elk Lake for a brief break. The remainder of the day was a brief 700 foot ascent followed by a descending section that merged with the Red Rock Valley trail that carried on endlessly before closing out our loop with the Canyon Creek Trail. This final section provided the last adventure of the trip in the form of crossing an ankle deep stream over a fallen tree log mainly to prevent our socks from getting wet.
Crossing
Canyon Creek
Click here to view the photos.