Hike Mt. Shasta

The Mount Shasta area has a lot of weather rolling through and it may be a while before we see the mountain for a sustained period of time. Hopefully that means we get a good dose of snow. This being the case, I thought I would post a few images from New Year’s Day.

The day started off with a beautiful sunrise. I was initially planning on heading up to Castle Lake but when I saw how still the water on Lake Siskiyou was I decided to head there instead. The fresh snow on the shoreline makes the lake look a lot prettier when it is drawn down. This allowed  different framing than what I would normally do at the lake. There was little snow on the north shore since it gets a lot of sun but it is far less noticeable from across the lake.

Mount Shasta wasn’t the only one getting in on the sunrise. Mount Eddy, to the west, was also highlighted by fiery clouds lighting up the dark sky. Adding a little more drama was the moon, descending through the pink clouds. It all reflected beautifully on the still water, which was only rippled by the landing and taking off of birds. Overall it was a wonderfully scenic morning and a great way to start off the new year.

Midday the sky became quite overcast. While it did not obscure Mount Shasta it did make it appear to fade into a white, hazy sky. Fortunately the sky began to clear around 1:30.

The afternoon was gorgeous. The skies cleared but there was significant turbulence and cloud activity around Mount Shasta. Lenticulars formed briefly then collapsed, indicative of the changing weather systems. The view of Mount Shasta and Black Butte from the headwaters area of the Shasta River was excellent and a great way to spend the afternoon with my dad.

By sunset clouds had enveloped Mount Shasta. There were lenticulars above the mountain but it was difficult to see them through all the other activity in the sky. They presaged the rain and snow we will be getting for the next several days. I hope it is a good storm and the kickoff to a great three months of winter weather. Here’s hoping!