Hike Mt. Shasta

The last couple of weeks have witnessed some unusual weather here in Mount Shasta. Each day has dawned with clear skies and cool temperatures. As the days have progressed, clouds have gradually gathered over Mount Shasta and Mount Eddy as the temperatures have climbed. Though never high (mostly in the upper 70’s to low 80’s), it has gotten just a hint of mugginess at times. Then, late in the afternoon, the thunder could be heard booming and a thunderstorm’s deluge would fall. It has seemed more like Rocky Mountain weather than what we typically have here in Northern California. Oddly, the sunsets have been fantastic to the northwest of Mount Shasta but the cloudy conditions have left the mountain itself in the flat absence of light.

Echo Point view of Mount Shasta rising above Parks Creek Valley and Echo Basin.

The clouds seemed to clear and a forecast the hinted the morning might have good conditions so I resolved to head out for a Sunday morning sunrise. This necessitated getting up at 4:30, since the sunrise is around 5:30 this time of year. I headed north to the Truchas Ridge and climbed up to Echo Point, which has a fantastic view of the lower Parks Creek vale. This time of year, the sun’s position in the far northeast of Mount Shasta makes this a great spot for a summer sunrise. I took up my position on the point and waited for the morning color to come. Frankly, it was lackluster, as too many clouds by Herd Peak filtered the light. However, as the sun rose above the mountains, the valley below was bathed in the warm morning glow. It was a glorious sight.

As has been the pattern, the clouds gathered in the afternoon and coalesced around Mount Shasta. The deluge that came was stronger than most over the last few weeks and I had nearly given up hope that there might be some kind of sunset on the mountain after the storm passed. Thankfully, I headed out anyway.

I had initially planned on heading into the Shasta Valley but stopped short when the clouds looked to have obscured the mountain from that direction. I stopped at a nearby vista that was west of Mount Shasta and quickly set up my camera, as there was a tall plume of cloud that was catching some great light. If this was all the sunset was to be, I was glad I had gone out.

The clouds quickly closed in and nearly smothered Mount Shasta. The tall plume of cloud had blown away and the sky was overcast. Still, light clung to the flanks of Mount Shasta so I resisted the temptation to pack up my camera and hung around for a few more minutes.

Suddenly, everything turned red and a vivid rainbow burst out of the ether in front of Mount Shasta. I had not anticipated this spectacle and at the moment I had my telephoto lens on, so I quickly snapped a few shots before switching to a wider angle lens.

The clouds around Mount Shasta began to lift and more of the mountain became visible. The rainbow persisted and grew, arcing high into the sky. Purple rain began to fall from the clouds, punctuated by flashes in the clouds and the boom of thunder. It was one of the most magical sunsets I have ever seen on Mount Shasta.

I expected the rainbow to be fleeting but it turned out to have great longevity. It lasted until all the light had faded from the sky. It did lose its blue, indigo and violet colors as the sun set, forming a reddish arc through the sky, which was lost in the already red glow of the clouds. The rain still fell, catching the evening light and made for a purply gauze hanging in the sky. This was unlike any sunset I had seen before. What a blessing…

The forecast no longer shows thunderstorms and indicates a return of more normal June weather. If Sunday’s sunset marked the end of the thunderstorms, it certainly closed out this odd weather with a terrific display.