Discover the remote ranges of northwestern California You seek more than just another ho-hum hike. You want rugged wilderness and solitudea place to push harder and go farther. You crave adventure! The Trinity Alps are a remote, little-explored divide tucked between the Coast Ranges and the Cascades in a half-million acres of backcountry. Grab this comprehensive guide to 600 miles of trails and cross-country routes. Hike to high waterfalls, backpack through deep forests, and camp next to sparkling lakes. Award-winning outdoors author Mike White presents 55 of the best day hikes and backpacking trips in the region, including trails in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Russian Wilderness, Castle Crags State Park, and Castle Crags Wilderness. Detailed trail maps and GPS trailhead coordinates help to ensure that you know where to go. Complete route descriptions, difficulty ratings, elevation profiles, and more let you know what to expect before you arrive. Plus, with information on access, facilities, campgrounds, resorts, pack stations, and supplies from nearby towns, this handy hiking and backpacking guide provides a wealth of information. Trinity Alps & Vicinity is where your adventures begin. Mike White was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He learned to hike, backpack, and climb in the Cascade Mountains, and he honed his outdoor skills further while obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University. After college, Mike and his wife, Robin, relocated to the Nevada desert, where he was drawn to the majesty of the High Sierra. In the early 1990s, Mike began writing about the outdoors, expanding the third edition of Luther Linkhart’s The Trinity Alps for Wilderness Press. His first solo project was Nevada Wilderness Areas and Great Basin National Park . Many more titles for Wilderness followed, including the Snowshoe Trails series; books about Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Lassen National Parks; Backpacking Nevada ; Top Trails: Northern California’s Redwood Coast ; Best Backpacking Trips in California and Nevada ; Best Backpacking Trips in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico ; 50 of the Best Strolls, Walks, and Hikes Around Reno ; and Afoot & Afield: Reno-Tahoe . Two of his books, Top Trails: Lake Tahoe and 50 Classic Hikes in Nevada , have won national awards. Mike has also contributed to the Wilderness Press classics Sierra South and Sierra North , as well as Backpacking California . In addition to his books, Mike has written for Sunset , Backpacker , and the Reno Gazette-Journal . A community college instructor, Mike is a featured speaker for outdoors groups. He and Robin live in Reno; his two sons, David and Stephen, live in the area as well. Kanaka Peak Trailhead TRIP 1: Kanaka Peak Loop Kanaka Peak offers splendid views from Mount Shasta all the way to the Yolla Bollys. Trip Type: Day hike - Distance & Configuration: 6.5-mile loop - Elevation Change: 3,600' (average 544'/mile) - Difficulty: Moderate–strenuous - Season: Year-round; best April–early June and late September–November - Map: USGS Igo - Management: Whiskeytown NRA, 530-242-3400, nps.gov/whis - Nearest Campground: Peltier Bridge The splendid views from the summit of 2,616-foot Kanaka Peak are well worth the physical effort. Make sure you’re clad in the proper footwear and have a pair of trekking poles for the steep, ankle-twisting, knee-wrenching descent from the top of the mountain. The 6.5-mile Kanaka Peak Loop passes through a mixture of black oak woodland and mixed conifer forest, with small pockets of lush riparian foliage lining the banks of Paige Boulder Creek and its tributaries. The dense vegetation clears enough on top of Kanaka Peak to allow the wide-ranging vistas that span from Mount Shasta in the north down the Sacramento Valley to the south. If possible, pick a day right after a storm for the best views, when cleansing rains have cleared the air of dust and pollutants. The elevations within Whiskeytown National Recreation Area are low enough to allow for year-round hiking, although snow may blanket the area for brief periods in the winter. Swollen creeks may cause more of a problem on this route for hikers then, as the Kanaka Peak Loop fords Paige Boulder Creek three times during the circuit―check with park officials for current conditions. In summer those low elevations usually produce scorching afternoon temperatures, generally more than 100°F, when Whiskeytown Lake is littered with water-loving recreational enthusiasts attempting to beat the heat. Spring is perhaps the best time for a visit, as the temperatures are usually mild, the creeks are flowing, and colorful wildflowers line the trail. Fall can also be a fine time to experience the area, with pleasant temperatures and deciduous plants and trees offering a touch of autumn color. Be watchful for poison oak along the loop, particularly on the upper ridge of the peak, where the trail is nearly overgrown with encroaching vegetation. G