Summer is typically a time when my posts on Hike Mt Shasta tend to be at a low ebb. This is largely a result of my being away from my computer more. Nonetheless, I have tried to keep up the site and put up at least a couple of posts each month. Meager output for sure, but life ought to be lived away from a screen (something I need to work on for sure!). I appreciate everyone sticking with the site even when the blog slows down to a glacial pace.
This summer portends something different. I now have a contract with Falcon Guides for my third book and it involves the nothern two-thirds of California. Consequently, I will be on the trail all over Northern California, from the Sierra Nevada to Big Sur to the Redwood Coast. This journey through the state will likely continue through October. Not only will I be hiking all these trails, but I will have to work on the text of the new book, working ont he maps, arranging the images and numerous other things that are part of putting a large book together. Hopefully this will be a much smoother process than last time, which was challenging because I was doing two books at once and because I had no idea how the whole process worked. Now I have only one book and I know the process. The challenge this time (at least the one I can most easily forsee) is simply getting all the trails hiked. It is horrible, I know, but someone has to do it.
So, all that being said, I am not sure exactly what my out put will look like this summer. I am tempted to blog my way through the mountains of Northern California. However, this runs against the grain of my approach to Hike Mt Shasta. First, I have always tried to maintain the focus on Mount Shasta and the surrounding area. The Coast Ranges, Bay Area, Sierra Nevada et al have little to do with the area except in the larger scheme of things geographically. Blogging about hiking in the Dardenelles or the Little Lakes Valley just does not seem to fit the mission of this site. Second, I have always kept the focus on the land and tried to keep all the focus off of me personally (other than an occasional image of my kids on Facebook, of course!). This has never been about trip reports and the like. I posted one trip report back in May of 2013 and it nevere sat well with me. I have had no plans to add more. So, talking about my journey this summer will seem contrary to the purpose of this website. I am open to thoughts my friends and readres have on this matter!
All that being said, I will continue to post on Mount Shasta when I can. Even in a state with spectacular coast and magnificent mountains like the Sierra Nevada, Mount Shasta continues to stand out. I love writing about this magical region and the many wonderful places therein. If I have not said it before, I want to put it on the record here that I appreciate everyone reading this blog and using the site as a resource. Also, a special thanks to everyone who bought my book!
Hike Mt. Shasta 
Congrats on the book deal, Bubba! Sounds like it’ll be a great summer. Just out of curiosity – do you expect you’ll go the Warners at all? If that’s in the cards, please let me know – I’ve got a project gestating for which it would be really nice to have something from the Warners. Ditto the Sweetwaters. I had also been contemplating trying to get to Waterwheel Falls and a trip up Convict Canyon this summer, and I’m open to other possibilities. So if any of that aligns with your plans and you wouldn’t mind some company…..
Thanks Jackson! To answer your question, yes to the Warners and Convict Canyon. I am planning on putting the hike in to Glen Aulin in the book, but not all the way to Waterwheel. I am trying to keep the book to dayhikes, with only a few longer trips thrown in. For what it is worth, the hike to Waterwheel is my second all-time favorite! The Sweetwaters may make the cut. Lobdell Lake to Mount Patterson is great, but I am considering jettisoning everything east of 395 in order to include other areas. Still under consideration though…
Cool! I’ll shoot you an email sometime and we’ll talk Warners, etc.
Anything I can do to assist l’m a phone call away
Thanks Paul! I will…though hopefully you will be on the trail with me at some point!
Bubba,
Great picture, what is the location please?
Congrats on book number 3! Here is one to check out.
One of my favorites is Picayune Valley in the Granite Chief Wilderness Area, 47 miles out Mosquito Ridge Road, NE from Foresthill, near Auburn. It is the headwaters of the American River and a box canyon with a 60′ waterfall. I did bird studies for Cornell in there for many years. Late July – early August was great for shoulder high wild flowers.
Dane
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Thanks Dane! The Western States Trail definitely has some nice stretches and Picayune Valley is one of the finet segments! Thanks for the heads up. As far as the location of the image on my post, that is Panorama Point on the Panorama Trail in Yosemite. It is going in the book! https://hikemtshasta.com/2013/05/18/yosemite-addendum-the-panorama-trail/
Awesome news, Bubba! Proud of you and your good work sharing your love for trails!
Congratulations on the new project. I will be looking forward to the new book as we have plans to head down to that area several times in the coming years.
Thank you very much! Whereabouts do you think you guys will be heading?
We’re hoping to visit the Marble Mountain Wilderness this year, spend a week in the Mt. Shasta area next year, and we have our eyes on trips to the Siskiyou, Russian, and Trinity Alps Wildernesses.
Sounds like a wonderful summer to me. The area around the Five Lakes Basin off I:80/Grouse Ridge is lovely and may not be on your agenda. One of my plans for this summer is to hike the 250 miles between Sonora Pass and Whitney. I’ve been over it many times and always love it. Now, if my 73 year old body will just cooperate. 🙂 –Curt
Actually, Grouse Ridge to Glacier Lake is on my agenda. I used to backpack that area quite a bit with the Boy Scouts when I was young. I hope you are able to make the trek through the High Sierra. Maybe I will see you on the trail!
I may have run into you as a boy scout. 🙂
Congratulations on the 3rd book!! It would be fun to hear about your adventures, you know, the parts that may not be in the book. Maybe do it through instagram? It would be like teasers for the new book 🙂 Excited for you! So glad you took on this challenge and are sacrificing so much for us 😉