Hike Mt. Shasta

Black Butte and Mount Shasta catch evening light in a cloudless sky.

It seems that summer has found a late season groove that here in Mount Shasta. The sky has generally been clear and the temperatures in the upper 80’s and low 90’s. The McKinney Fire has mellowed out and, with some good fortune, we may not see its like again this year. Generally speaking, things are pretty good. However, this also means that we have entered into the least interesting part of the year in terms of Mount Shasta conditions. The sky is typically cloudless and the mountain is almost snowless, save for its massive glaciers. That means it is, at times, a little harder to make a massive, solitary, glacier-clad 14,000 foot volcano more interesting. This was certainly the case the other night when my family and I went for a short hike and enjoyed the setting sun’s light as it glowed on Mount Shasta and Black Butte. All the scene needed was some clouds in the sky and it actually would have been excellent.

Skip ahead 34 hours or so and I wake up to sound of falling rain. An unexpected little storm rolled through early Wednesday morning. I hopped up and into the car and headed out to see how conditions looked. It’s not often the sky gets interesting this time of year and I did not want to miss it. I headed north, since the sun rises northeast of Mount Shasta in late summer and that offers some decent light – if the sky is clear enough to let the light through. This morning the light was pretty filtered but a few clouds boasted a subtle pink glow. It was just enough to highlight the rainy deluge that was falling on Mount Shasta’s northern flanks.

The rain moved pretty quick but the color lingered. I was glad I had headed out, since it has been quite a while since I have taken in a Mount Shasta sunrise. Between naked sky and out of town trips (which, of course, coincided with other punctuations of interesting weather) early morning forays have not been worth the effort. This one, though subdued, was worth it. The rain was a nice bonus.

The sun rises behind a think cloud back above the Whaleback.

Oregon’s Mount McLoughlin and the Shasta Valley’s Owl Head align from my position.

The scenery around the rest of the Shasta Valley was beautiful as always. I am always amazed by how underrated the valley is. It has beautiful geography, fantastic views and the stark difference between the lush alpine terrain that surrounds it and the its own arid desert climate all combine to make it a spectacular destination.

The Shasta River flows north into the Shasta Valley.

Parks Creek, formerly the North Fork of the Shasta River, still flows in late summer.

On my way home, I headed by the major waterways that flow off the north end of the Trinity Divide and into the Shasta Valley. Though diminished, they still flowed swiftly, a testimony to the strength of these creek’s sources. A few lakes lie at their headwaters but the real source of the water is the large patchwork of meadows that hold water from the winter and spring like sponges. I think they have enough juice in them right now that they will keep on flowing all summer. It’s not too much further until we start to get back into the rainy season. That also means a white mountain and more interesting weather around it. I can’t wait.