Hike Mt. Shasta

A frozen but glorious sunrise over Mount Shasta.

December has been a bit of a strange duck of a month. I have barely captured any images of the mountain whatsoever. I know this is partly because there has been so much weather (which is good!) that the mountain has not been visible. Furthermore, I know this is partly because I have been exceedingly busy. Even so, I know there have been morning when I was up early and the mountain was visible and yet, there were no clouds or other interesting features to compel to head out and observe it. Consequently, it has been a slow month in terms of documenting the passage of time over the mountain. Prior to the last few days, the only image I had captured was a technicolor sunrise over a frozen reflecting pool in the Shasta Valley. That was it.

I do like to head out on the solstices and I knew that winter’s would be rainy if the forecast held. Fortunately, the approach to the solstice – and the storm that would obscure it – would be more than memorable enough. The incoming storm was heralded by the finest lenticular display Mount Shasta has had in a while.

The day started with nothing noteworthy in the sky. Clouds coalesced over the mountain and by early afternoon, it was evident something interesting was afoot. My son called me from his youth group Christmas party to alert me to the presence of a lenticular forming and catching the afternoon light (holy kinarsy, my kids are old enough to be lenticular spotters now!). I headed out briefly to some land we had closed escrow on the day before and was able get a quick shot of the mountain with its illuminated cloud cap. It was nice but the overcast sky filtered out most of the light and partly obscured the cloud itself while Mount Shasta was drenched in shadow. I was hopeful things would clear up by sunset.

Indeed, the skies cleared considerably before the sun had set. This meant it was now a moral imperative to head out to try to get the sunset. I had initially planned on heading to Echo Point out at Truchas Ridge but when I saw the reflecting pools all glassy and the wind that normally buffets the valley was absent, I opted to stop at the pool. The reflection was nearly perfect and, despite Mount Shasta never getting any color, it made for a fantastic sunset. It felt like all the lost time in December was finally paying off…as if there was some kind of moral connection.

Considering how strong the lenticular had been the night before and how clear the sky was around it, it was a foregone conclusion that I was going to head out early in the morning to see if I could catch some color on the lenticular over Mount Shasta. Once again, I my planned destination was Echo Point. If some low fog occupied the valley and glowed in the predawn color, so much the better! However, as I headed north, I could see fog, but far more than I had hoped. I was confident that it was so deep Echo Point would have been enveloped and visibility of Mount Shasta nonexistent. Since I was about out of time, that meant the same reflecting pool from the night before was my only real option. Though the wind was now active, the pool still offered the opportunity to capture some great color at sunrise. I was not disappointed. It was epic.

Part of me was confident that the morning lightshow would be the end. With weather incoming for the solstice the next day, the odds of a good sunset were lower. During the day the sky got pretty cloudy but in the late afternoon, it cleared up a bit and the lenticular on Mount Shasta had hung on. It had, however, moved over the mountain rather than northeast of it as it had been in the morning. Such are the vicissitudes of a lenticular cloud’s fortunes. As always, it was a moral imperative to get out to capture it. For a third time, I was intent on getting to Echo Point. This time I did not even look at the reflecting pools as I drove by and the fog that had smothered the valley in the morning was long gone. Yet, the clouds were now closing in on Mount Shasta and it was obvious that light and visibility were getting short. I stopped and capture one image before heading up to the point. I am glad I did. Conditions continued to deteriorate but that fleeting moment, with its great cloud and interplay of light and dark, was beautiful!

Finally I made it up to Echo Point! I never get tired of the view from up there. It was very windy, as the valley often is but the howl of the wind was wild and the lonely basin felt abandoned and gloriously desolate. Even though the light has long since left the land was was fading from the sky prematurely it was edifying just being there.

I waited for a last burst of light as the sun sank beyond the horizon but it was for not. Nonetheless, seeing the last glow beyond Cabezon Peak, beyond the distant Little Scott Mountains, it was mesmerizing. It may not have been the solstice proper but it was as close as it was going to get. The last 24 hour had seen some extraordinary lenticular activity. It was a great way to end the short days. Now they can get longer, at long last!