Hike Mt. Shasta

Smoke from the Shelly Fire adds color to an otherwise clear sky.

This is getting to be a troubling theme. I start a post then life kicks it aside and it takes a long time to get back to it. In this case, after Independence Day, I had a very busy week then headed out to eastern Oregon and Idaho for a fantastic roadtrip (Steens Mountain, Wallowa Mountains etc). Now back for less than I week, I am finally tackling not just the 4th of July, but the rest of the month as well. It’s all I can do at this point!

What can one say about July 2024? It has been hot and it has been smoky, to varying degrees. It has, at times, managed to be gorgeous in spite of the challenges. Thankfully, now, at the end of the month, the heat seems to be breaking up a bit.

Independence Day came right at the onset of the heat that has persisted all month. My family has never had a single tradition for where to go to watch the fireworks launched over Lake Siskiyou. We’ve gone to the launch site (have friends that are involved with the fireworks), to friends houses nearby etc. This year, to beat the heat, we headed up to a spot with a great view up on Mount Shasta. Though warm, it was noticeably cooler here and the view of Lake Siskiyou, as well as the high peaks of the Castle Crags Wilderness is excellent.

As the sunlight faded, the sky turned pink and the lights of the town increased. Boats were visible gathering on the lake, anticipating the coming show.

Soon it was more dark than not and the focus of activity was on the lake. More boats continued to arrive.

Finally the show began. The echo of the explosion was a nice feature.

It was a great pyrotechnic demonstration. Independence Day is certainly one of my favorite holidays, not just for the customary summer bacchanalia but for the underlying principles and events that it recognizes. Thank you Lord!

Around the same time, the Shelly Fire was getting started. It was likely started by PCT hikers, though this is as yet unconfirmed. My sources tell me that there has been a heavy investigative effort to identify thruhikers in the area. The fire topped out at around 15,500 acres and came close to burning Kidder Creek, a popular camp that is well connected to my community here in Mount Shasta.

Smoke from the Shelly Fire began to drift into the area right after the 4th of July. The sky had been unrelentingly cloudless and dull but the smoke add textures and colors. It’s an unfortunate way to make things prettier, but it is a sliver of silver in the lining.

The next few days were alternatingly hazy or clear, depending on the whims of the wind. One morning saw an near-lenticular but it soon gave up the ghost before coalescing into a full scale display of Mount Shasta’s own form of pyrotechnics. It still made for a beautiful morning and a break from the clear-skied monotony.

At times the weather was clear, with the smoke blown out somewhere to the north but even so, it remained hot. This brought its own set of problems, as the snow melt at time made feints down Cascade Gulch and toward town.

Mudflows of this scale began almost a year ago, when the remnants of Hurricane Hilary sailed through the area. Since then they have occurred intermittently and seemingly with greater, though irregularity and with little provocation. They have already altered the landscape of Mount Shasta and encroached within a few blocks of downtown.

Cascade Gulch mudflow’s new arroyo near the high school.

A streetview look at the same area a few years ago. Note the telephone pole, which is now guarded by riprap. 

It is a fascinating phenomenon to observe. Who knows how the sporadic mudflows will end. No doubt some kind of remediation is needed to save property, but for a variety of reasons it is a tricky issue.

Now, as July crawls to a close, we have had some real interesting things happen in the sky (more on that soon) and all is overshadowed by the fast growing Park Fire down by Chico. Smoke is drifting north through Mount Shasta again, though not the full plume issued by that fast-growing conflagration. Hopefully it is brought to heel soon and August can be a more mellow month.