Length:  40.2 miles
Trailhead(s):  Swift Creek Trailhead
Elevation Gain:  8,169’
Trail Type:  Lollipop
Dogs:  Allowed
Difficulty:  Difficult
Permit Required?  Yes, Self Issue – See Link for Information on Acquiring
Considerations:  Some minor bushwhacking due to overgrowth in areas.  Some route finding.
Season:  Late Spring to Early Fall

Overview of the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop

There is no doubt about it – the Trinity Alps Wilderness is a rugged place to hike and the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop will work you. The pay-offs, however, are outstanding.

The key is to not bite off more than you can chew in a given day. Anticipate that the hike is going to be tougher and longer than in many other areas, and adjust your daily mileage targets accordingly, particularly if this is your first backpacking trip in the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

With the above caveat, the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop will reward you with amazing beauty, varied terrain, incredible views, dramatic creeks, and crystal clear alpine lakes. Believe me, it’s worth the effort!

Day 1 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop

Beginning at the Swift Creek Trailhead, the Swift Creek Trail begins with shade from the trees along Swift Creek. After the first .2 miles along the creek, the trail begins climbing.

At the Granite Creek Trail junction, where you take a left, the trail pitches up more aggressively. Overall, you’ll gain an average of about 450’ per mile for the five miles to Granite Lake.

As you climb towards the lake on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop, you will get a mix of terrain going in and out of tree cover, hiking through majorly overgrown sections, and climbing a lot of big rock step-ups. As with the rest of the Trinity Alps, the hiking is fairly to very rugged depending on your experience. If you go in July, you will be able to take your mind off the climb with the many wildflowers in full bloom throughout the hike to Granite Lake.

Shortly before reaching Granite Lake, you will arrive at Gibson Meadow. Here, the trail flattens just before the final climb to the lake. It is a lovely carpet of green grasses bounded by forest and mountains on each side.

Granite is a very pretty lake with views of Siligo Peak in the distance. There are a number of good campsites down by the lake if you choose to make your way through the heavy growth between the trail and the lake. We found a fantastic campsite next to Granite Creek between the trail and the lake. The trees around us gave us shade from the hot July sun and the water from the creek was excellent. This was the perfect spot to camp for the night before continuing on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop.

Day 2 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop

On day 2 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop, we hiked from our campsite at Granite Lake to Morris Meadows by following the Granite Lake Trail, taking a right at the junction with the Deer Creek Trail, and another right on to the Stuart Fork Trail.

Climbing begins immediately upon leaving Granite Lake. The climb to the shoulder where the Granite Creek Trail meets the Seven Up Peak Trail has virtually no switchbacks, so be prepared to work. During the climb, we went in and out of heavy overgrowth that was over our heads. When not in the brush, the views were beautiful, keeping us juiced to push further.

Once we got on top of the saddle at the junction with the Seven Up Peak Trail, the view was spectacular looking down into the Deer Creek basin. From here, the Granite Creek Trail was well switched as it descended into the basin. The views of the basin were wide open and gorgeous all the way down to the Deer Creek Trail, where we took a right.

Despite being on the Deer Creek Trail, route finding was necessary as the trail disappeared in spots on the way to Deer Camp. Numerous stream crossings were also necessary. There was good camping at Deer Camp, if you want to plan your hike differently than we did.

After Deer Camp, the trail becomes more defined as it enters the trees and continues to descend to the junction with the Stuart Fork Trail.

Just before the Stuart Fork Trail, there is a small climb before taking a right on Stuart Fork and descending into Morris Meadows. There are many campsites and good water at Morris Meadows. It’s about .5 miles from the junction with the Deer Creek Trail. Just look for footpaths to the left of the trail as you hike through the meadows. It was here we camped for the 2nd night on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop.

Day 3 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop

On day 3 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop, our target was Emerald and Sapphire lakes. We considered leaving our camp set-up at Morris Meadows and day hiking the lakes as an out & back, but decided to break camp and carry our gear in case we found a good campsite at the lakes.

The hike to Emerald was easy, with good views of Stuart Fork and landscapes along the way. Emerald Lake is very pretty with a dusky green hue in the clear water. The lake is surrounded by sloping granite and treed hills that fold into each around the lake. Directly across the lake you can see a saddle above which sits Sapphire Lake.

The hike from Emerald to Sapphire Lake starts in the trees and moves into a heavily overgrown footpath that you must, essentially, push your way through. Eventually, you leave the brush and hike on large boulder breakdown until reaching the lake.

The hike is well worth the effort, because the views of Emerald from the rock breakdown are fantastic and, although Sappire’s water is not as spectacular as Emerald’s, the cirque around the lake is beautiful. We found the lake to be a great place to eat lunch before hiking down.

We decided not to camp at either Emerald or Sapphire. Emerald has a number of campsites, but it is very popular and a research team and others occupied the best sites, leaving only exposed sites to pitch a tent.

We could have camped at Sappire, but it is very rocky and there is no shade, making it brutally hot in the July sun. Instead, we headed back to Morris Meadows to camp before continuing on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop.

On the way up to Emerald and Sapphire, we noticed a number of nice campsites along Stuart Fork. Morris Meadows was nice to camp, but was crowded and noisy. As such, we grabbed a site on Stuart Fork less than a mile from Morris Meadows. It was a great site with rapids next to it and no one around. Our kind of camping!

Day 4 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop

Day 4 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop encompassed a number of trails. From our campsite on Stuart Fork, we hiked the Stuart Fork Trail back to the Deer Creek Trail, took a left on the Black Basin Trail, then continued straight onto the Bear Basin Trail. The day was rigorous at 8.65 miles and 3,467’ of gain, due mostly to the rockiness of the hike as is prevalent in so much of the Trinity Alps.

The hike to the Black Basin Trail starts with a mellow down on the Stuart Fork Trail, but changes to a 2,000’ ascent on the 4.3 miles of the Deer Creek Trail leading to the Black Basin Trail. The final water crossing on the Deer Creek Trail was tough to navigate without removing shoes. Mac and I both go wet – including shoes and pants. Guess we should have removed our shoes!

We climbed another 1,400’ over 2.8 miles on the Black Basin and Bear Basin trails, until we found a campsite on the Bear Basin Trail. This section of the hike was amazingly beautiful.

The Black Basin Trail climbs rigorously to a plateau with fantastic views of the surrounding area – including the Sawtooth Ridge above the Caribou basin. The trail did require some route finding as it fades in and out in places.

On the rocky plateau, we did not see any campsites, but water is available. We filtered some water and ate lunch before continuing to Bear Basin.

Hiking down into Bear Basin was astounding. This, literally, was one of the top five views I’ve had hiking (which is saying a lot because I’ve been so fortunate to hike in so many beautiful places)! The descent is wide open, providing views of the surrounding hillsides and peaks. Snow was still present in pockets on the hillsides and wildflowers were everywhere, which added to the beauty.

After a somewhat steep descent, the down mellowed a bit before the trail met Bear Creek. Having seen only two campsites since departing the Bear Creek Trail, we grabbed the second site because we did not know when we would find another.

The second campsite was next to the trail with good water, level ground, shade, and some breezes to give a reprieve from the July heat. We didn’t worry about being disturbed, despite being next to the trail, because we had not seen anyone all day since we left the Stuart Fork Trail.

The next morning, we finished the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop.

Day 5 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop

Day 5 on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop was a relatively easy 2,866’ descent over 6.6 miles back to the Swift Creek Trailhead. The hike finishes the Bear Basin Trail and then takes a right at the Swift Creek Trail.

The hiking is mainly in the trees and there is creek crossing on Bear Creek just before the two trails intersect. Early in the season, this crossing is likely major because the bridge is gone. In July, however, it was a good rock hop.

Final Thoughts on the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop

This, our second hike in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, was an amazing hike. It certainly is not a beginner hike, but hikers with some experience and trail finding skills will be richly rewarded for their efforts.

The Trinity Alps are one of our favorite places to hike. They are rugged, tough, and can be challenging, but they always reward us with incredible beauty. (We’ve already completed a third trip in the Trinities, just 2 months after the Granite-Sapphire-Swift Creek Lollipop.)

There are more approachable hikes in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, such as the Four Lakes Loop, but this hike is totally worth the effort and gets you off the beaten path to experience parts of the Trinity Alps most visitors don’t see. Hike on!

Scroll down to learn about the GEAR WE USE and OTHER OUTVENTURES in this area.

Additional Information (Click below to follow links.)

• Trinity Alps Wilderness & Permit Information