Hike Mt. Shasta

The second to last day of 2024 was a beautiful one. The sky was beautifully blue and layers of clouds created visual strata climbing up toward Mount Shasta’s summit. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to stop and capture images of the beauty but I did secure time in the afternoon to head to Echo Point at Truchas Ridge to enjoy the sunset with my family. In a second unfortunate circumstance, most of the clouds had dissipated. However, this is not to sound ungrateful as any opportunity to visit Echo Point is time well spent.

Truchas Ridge was exceedingly muddy but the top of the ridges and the south facing exposure is rocky and travel is much easier. We climbed up to Echo Point in time for sunset and even without the clouds from earlier it was a marvelous sight.

Echo Point is so called because it overlooks what we call Echo Basin. The basin holds large meadows and a lake in addition to extensive meadows. More than 300 feet above, the point has a grand vista that includes almost every major peak around the Shasta Valley, as well as Parks Creek and the more hard-to-see Shasta River.

The shape of the basin make its acoustics fantastic. As the name implies, echoes occur very prominently there. It is customary for my daughter, in her youthful fancy, to step out onto the rocky prominence and howl, preferably at sunset. Occasionally, the coyotes answer.

My crummy phone microphone did not pick up the echo, but you get the idea. It’s a fun way for her to end the trip out there. It really ended the whole of 2024, in terms of sunsets. Clouds were forecasted to come in on New Years Eve and obscure any heavenly theatrics over Mount Shasta and this was the case so this was effectively the final sunset of 2024.

Thankfully, there was one final sunrise for the year, as the incoming clouds lit up very briefly before the storm gloom enveloped everything. Though the pool was frozen, it still caught a lot of light and the intricate lines of the ice made for some interesting texture in the image. It was a good morning and a good end to the year. May 2025 be a good one!