Hike Mt. Shasta

A white mountain and golden aspens, hallmarks of a Mount Shasta autumn.

This is a quick post, as I am leaving tomorrow for southern Utah but I have had these images in the que to document the changing season. So, a brief, short description and a few images for posterity.

We had a few small storm systems pass through last week. They deposited a little bit of snow on the mountain but the layer was thin and was, for the most part, limited to the upper flanks of the mountain. In these images, the patchy nature of the snow is evident.

From the west, the snow looked a little thicker, especially above 11,000 feet. There was a dusting of snow below that but it was light and limited to shady areas and other less sunny areas. However, though we didn’t get much rain at the mountain’s foot, there was quite a bit of cloud around the mountain for a few days.

When the clouds parted, a much whiter Mount Shasta was revealed. This was the first time all autumn that the mountain really looked properly white. The snow layer is not thick but it fairly solid and the cold temperatures are enough to keep it from melting off.

Though a lot of the fall color has already lost its vividness, there are still a few spots where some golden leaves are still to be found on the trees. The bright foliage with the white mountain and a blue sky are a magnificent sight.

I reckoned I would try to get a sunset shot while I was running into town but the storms had gathered about the mountain again. Still, the fiery clouds and the half visible mountain still impressed.

Now, off to the Colorado Plateau…