We've spent the past week in Mt Shasta City, an area we love and have explored some in the past. This time we never even drove up to the mountain; the road was only cleared to Bunny Flat which still had four feet of snow...no thanks!
On the drive from Redding to Mt Shasta we were thrilled to see Shasta Lake full to the brim!
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What an amazing sight, Shasta Lake is practically full!!!!!
It's been a very long time. |
Spring Hill was our first hike in the area. Close to town, it's a 1.5 mile hike to the top of a small butte with lovely views of Mt Shasta.
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| Mt Shasta from the Spring Hill trail. |
Near the Spring Hill trail head and adjacent to Interstate 5 at Mt Shasta City Park are the headwaters of the Upper Sacramento River. We saw several people filling jugs with water percolating out of the hillside...water that fell as snow on Mt Shasta about 50 years earlier.
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| Headwaters of the Sacramento River. |
We were thrilled to welcome a very special visitor over the weekend, my daughter Chantal!
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| Chantal and I at Weed Ale House. |
The three of us had a nice walk along three miles of the north shore of
Lake Siskiyou. Unfortunately the bridge crossing the Sacramento River inlet had not been installed for the summer due to heavy runoff so we were unable to circle the entire lake. This is a mostly flat trail suitable for walking or biking.
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| Wagon Creek Bridge on Lake Siskiyou plus Mt Shasta. |
The
Mt Shasta Sisson Museum, near Lake Siskiyou, is an excellent place to learn about the area's history. Everything from Native Americans to logging, trains, skiing, and the lenticular clouds that form over the mountain. There's even a fish hatchery on the grounds.
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| Feeding the fish at the hatchery at the Mt Shasta Sisson Museum. |
One of the most popular hikes in the area is the
McCloud River Falls trail. Much of the flow of the McCloud River is shaped by lava and three beautiful waterfalls occur where the water could not cut through tough bands of basalt. Though all three falls can be reached by car, we parked at the lower falls and hiked to the upper falls for a gorgeous 4 mile round trip walk.
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| Lower Falls on the McCloud River |
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| Middle Falls on the McCloud River...note the guy on the left about to jump. |
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| Looking down on the Middle Falls. |
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| Upper Falls on the McCloud River. |
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| Lava channel leading to the Upper Falls. |
After a wonderful few days with Chantal, she returned to her regular life and we continued our typical daily exploring of the area. The
Gateway trail system is a pretty new series of trails right on the edge of Mt Shasta City with, of course, fabulous views of the mountain. We did a nice seven mile lollipop loop and finally, after weeks of seeing signs, saw a bear!
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| Mt Shasta from the Gateway trail. |
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| Strolling through swaths of flowering thimble berry plants on the Gateway trail. |
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| Just barely managed to photograph the bear we saw strolling through a ravine about 75 feet below us on the Gateway trail. |
We had one more amazing hike in the area but I have too many photos for this post, stay tuned!
Today we move on in to Oregon...more time with Chantal and James, and lots of beach time ahead of us this summer!
We had the same thing happen last May on the Siskiyou trail, but it was still a nice hike. We didn't make it to McLoud but looks like a must-do for next time. Glad you finally got to see a bear, but not too close!
ReplyDeleteTry to do McCloud River on a week day...it's really popular!
DeleteMt Shasta is amazing and the waterfalls so nice with all of that snow. You are making me miss the west.
ReplyDeleteIt was an excellent week!
DeleteBeautiful pics of NoCal. Hard to remember the last time there was so much water in Shasta, and do not recall ever seeing the water falls that full. Will you be doing any winery reviews? Safe Travels!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing to see that much water around here!?!?! It's about time!
DeleteNope, no winery reviews...we tend to go to breweries more than wineries.
You're in our backyard. :-)) We love the McCloud and have spent many happy times camping there. You got some gorgeous shots of the river, and of Mt. Shasta. How wonderful to share the experience with your lovely daughter! (And now you're REALLY in our backyard at Emigrant Lake. I'm sorry we aren't there to share some adventures with you. Hope you're having fun! :-))
ReplyDeleteOur entire time in the NorCal mountains has been fabulous and we will definitely be back!
DeleteWe'll miss you at Emigrant, but I do hope to check out some trails you mentioned in Jacksonville that we haven't hiked before. There is some rain in the forecast though so our hiking will be minimal this time.
I'm so glad you got a pic of Lake Shasta with all that wonderful water! We too were thrilled to see it so full, but didn't catch a shot. The waterfalls are beautiful, looks like a lovely hike. Wow - a bear!! It's so great when our kids can join us in a beautiful spot :-)))
ReplyDeleteI really dislike taking photos from a moving vehicle, but was glad one turned out halfway decent of Shasta Lake! We Californian's know how rare it is for it to be full!
DeleteI've driven by Mt Shasta and the lake many times but never stopped. I can see I need to spend some time there! Beautiful! Are you and Hans planning to be near Portland again this summer? I hiked the gorge today and stopped off at Thunder Island Brewing in Cascade Locks on my way home.... brought back memories of our hike last August! :)
ReplyDeleteThere are so many good hikes in the Shasta area, you would love it! And of course it is so picturesque!
DeleteWe will be in Portland on Sept 1st for two weeks...looking forward to seeing you!
Ahhh.....It's so beautiful in the PNW. Thanks for the refreshing reminder. (We're having routine 80's almost every day here on the Georgia coast.) Loving it but sometimes missing other parts of the country. Safe travels you guys!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful that your travels brought you out west so you got to experience it before you settled down again!?
DeleteWeather looks great...so far :) More beer pics please.
ReplyDeleteThere may be more beer pics since we have a bit of weather coming through!
DeleteGorgeous!!! I love Mt Shasta. When we were there, there wasn't as much snow. Boy does the snow add to the beauty.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you are enjoying a great time with your daughter. Family is number one in our book.
I should have compared our photos of the mountain from last summer to now...it is dramatically different!
DeleteThis post be could one of ours! We seem to be seeing and hiking the same type areas...beautiful waterfall, lakes, and snow covered mountains! Such lovely hiking with great rewards along the way. How neat that you saw a bear, but as Gayle said, not to close:) I'm sure you were thrilled to have Chantal down for a visit. That makes the hikes even more special. Enjoy the Oregon coast. Hope this is a warmer, sunny year for the coast area:)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful! I love the trail that winds through the flowering thimble plants. And there is nothing quite like the sound of roaring water at waterfalls... really enjoyed this post Lisa!
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