Hike Mt. Shasta

Azalea Creek cascades into the South Fork of the Sacramento River.

There are a lot of creeks in the Mount Shasta area that suffer the indignity of being nameless. This is particularly true in the Trinity Divide, where there are numerous creeks, many surprisingly large that have never had the dignity of proper appellation. Of course, the anonymity of these waterways usually equates to obscurity and that means that they almost never see more than a few feet treading their banks. This is just fine with me, as I feel that I have long ago left the trails of the Mount Shasta area and spend most of my time exploring the lesser known – or totally unknown – areas around the mountain.

One such creek is Azalea Creek. The name does not show up on any map but in the absence of any other creek by that name in the area this is a perfectly good candidate for that moniker. The banks of the creek are absolutely choked with azalea. Interestingly, the azalea’s companion is an abundance of the rare Port Orford cedar, one of the trees endemic to the Klamath Mountains and adjacent coastal areas in southern Oregon. It is a special combination of plant life in this narrow riparian corridor that is otherwise dominated by the normally more abundant denizens of the Trinity Divide.

I have been heading up into rarer waters lately, since the Long Winter has yielded to a seemingly equally long spring and the rivers and creeks are running vigorously. While I certainly want to share some footage of the sights produced by this special time of year, I also want to use these posts to document the conditions for posterity. Thanks for putting up with the excessive number of videos!

When we first reached Azalea Creek, we headed upstream for a while. Not surprisingly, Port Orford cedars and azaleas lined the bank. The water cascades over one rocky bench after another. One of these days I will really head upstream, which climbs up to hidden meadows and headwaters at over 6,000 feet, lying beneath the high peaks of the Castle Crags Wilderness.

For this trip, the goal was to follow this creek down the increasingly precipitous channel to its confluence with the Sacramento River. This is a delightful little trip, particularly when the water level is high. There is a great deal of payoff in terms of drama and beauty as the creek cascades over one small cataract after another.

Eventually the creek tumbles over some crags before finally meeting the South Fork of the Sacramento River. This part of the river is well below South Fork Road, which lies high above on a steep slope. Consequently, few people venture down to this stretch of the river. It is sublime meeting of smaller waters with the larger. The contrast between this wild section of river and the slow, wide behemoth I crossed as a kid in Rio Vista is fascinating. That was always the Sacramento River to me. Now, for my kids, the Sacramento is mean piece of water, not to be trifled with except in the fall, when its current and volume are gentler. It’s hard to believe they are one.

Beyond the Sacramento River, Mount Shasta can just barely seen, filtered through trees above the river. It is a reminder that the mountain still holds sway, even in these deep mountain canyons of a mountain range once removed from Mount Shasta itself. What a glorious corner of the world…