Thompson Peak

Thompson Peak is the highest summit in the entire Trinity Alps Wilderness, and most people climb it from the shorter China Gulch side, usually as an overnight backpacking trip. This was the longer, harder way in — up Canyon Creek, car-to-car, in a single push, starting well before sunrise and not getting back to the trailhead until well into the evening.

The first several miles follow Canyon Creek past a string of lakes, and the wildlife signs were everywhere — so much bear scat past Upper Canyon Creek Lake that it was impossible to miss. Above the lakes, the maintained trail simply disappears, and the real work of the day begins: hours of off-trail travel through a huge granite wilderness, boulder hopping, bushwhacking, and constant route-finding with no path to follow.

The summit complex itself was unlike anything else on this list — several exposed granite high points sitting close together along a narrow ridge, with five old survey markers scattered among them: a THOMPSON 1949 reference mark, the main THOMPSON triangulation station itself dated 1961, a THOMPSON bench mark, and two more reference disks tucked into the rock nearby. Climbed all three high points, including the true summit, with a lake glinting far below through a gap in the granite the entire time.

The trip home turned into its own separate ordeal — ran out of water while still high on the ridge, with no choice but to descend as quickly as possible until reaching water again. AllTrails recorded 23.6 miles and 6,434 feet of gain over more than 14 hours; by the time the whole day was finally over, Apple Health had it at 26.3 miles and 61,657 steps.

One day, Canyon Creek to the highest point in the Trinity Alps and all the way back. Definitely one of the hardest mountain days on this entire list — and one that won't be forgotten.