Hike Mt. Shasta

It has been a fantastic fall season here in Mount Shasta. The color has been vivid, the weather near perfect and there has been some excellent cloud displays over Mount Shasta. It has been a great way to cap what was already a memorably ideal summer here around the mountain.

While this week was indeed beautiful, it did mark the beginning of the long slide into winter. The previous week the colors were at their peak but over the last few days, it was evident that it had started to fade, though it retained its gorgeous appearance. By the end of the week, the winds had stirred up significantly and many of the trees were stripped bare. The warm weather conditions will continue for another week, but with the trees shedding their leaves rapidly now, it is only a matter of time before winter’s desolation will have arrived.

Nonetheless, I want to celebrate the week we were blessed with. To the pictures!

Things kicked off with a bang. Last Sunday night had one of the best lenticular displays the mountain has offered up in a long time. It was a glorious sunset.

Though nowhere near as epic the next day, the mountain retained a delicate, lacy band of a cloud that was wrapped around the summit of the mountain. It was quite a sight.

I took my family back to Squaw Valley Creek. It was quite beautiful but it was obvious that the color, just a few days before at its peak, had now begun to fade. We enjoyed the hike in despite this!

Tuesday morning the sun came up with fire in the sky. It was one of the most spectacular sunrises I have seen.

Midweek, the clouds had been reduced to a wisp being strained out of the air currents by the summit. I never get tired of watching the air dance above the mountain. This pretty much marked the end of the clouds over Mount Shasta for the week.

With November coming soon, my wife and I reckoned we needed to get our kids up to the Old Ski Bowl one more time before that part of the mountain is closed off for the winter. Picnicking up there is one of our favorite summer activities. Our kids like to scramble amongst the rocks and set up “villages”. I am not sure how that started but they love it. Though cold, it was good to get the clan up there one more time.

Saturday morning saw a return of the clouds but they were far more interesting over Black Butte than Mount Shasta. Fortunately, I was able to clamber out to a series of rocks that offer what is possibly the best perspective on this often underappreciated peak. It was a great change of pace.

My family ended the week at Sisson Meadow for a leaf-collecting excursion. The color may have been in decline but it was still lovely. It was a good end to a beautiful autumn week here in Mount Shasta.