The goal was to check out an alternative way of accessing the upper Sky Lakes. 

The Good: Cherry Creek Trail is in excellent condition. The 55.3 miles to the TH were done in 1 hour 10 minutes and only 1.5 miles were on a forest service road to a well set up TH. The return trip was 1:05. Trapper Lake is very nice. 

The Bad: there were a few creek crossings, but not a major problem. Would not do it during spring snow run off. 

The Ugly: 13.7 miles return. 1,000 feet ascent in the last 2 miles. Nice old growth forest but no views on the hike. 3 1/2 hours out, 2 hours 40 return. Over 6 hours hiking. The last 2 miles out is a slog. 

Conclusion: Glad we did it as a learning experience and we had a good time. Not a good candidate for regular hiking but worth doing once to see it.

The same lake can be accessed with a 10 mile return hike from Coldsprings TH. Like several Klamath area TH's, this caters to equestrians.

Thanks to Rich and Jerry for their company. 

Track download: Trapper Lake 10-29-20.gpx