Hike Mt. Shasta

Spring at Truchas Ridge in the Shasta Valley.

Yikes, things just fly out of control sometimes. School is out and the summer travel season has started earlier than normal. The end of the school year brought a lot of other changes quickly, some welcome, some not. Chief among them has been the weather, which has been gorgeous. Spring has been glorious, especially in the Shasta Valley. However, there has been some unexpected peril…

The southern exposure of the hills around the valley are exploding with bright yellow flowers. These are the common woolly sunflower and they really brighten the arid landscape of the valley nicely.

As lush as it is, it is nowhere near as explosive as the growth was last year. It was sort of a superbloom last year, with flowers, grasses and other kinds of growth nearly choking the landscape in a green blanket. Fortunately, the incredible amount of snow that fell in February flattened all the grass down and let the land recover a little.

Though the winter wasn’t as heavy as the previous two or three, this year the water has been high in the valley, with numerous lakes filling basins that have been dry for years. Some used to be filled for years but for the last decade they have been sporadic at best and typically not full. For reasons yet to be determined, this year these lakes have all been quite full. It is a great addition to the landscape!

Through all of this, Mount Shasta has risen in solitary splendor over the valley. There has been some interesting weather but nothing too dramatic. While the landscape may be lush and the water high, the skies have been fairly tame, with a few lenticulars thrown in but nothing particularly dramatic.

Instead, the drama sprang from the most unexpected place: Spring Hill. Reported around 9pm on May 19th, the fire spread quickly around the western flank of the small butte that hems in the northern side of Mount Shasta City. The flames were dramatic in the dark of night and the glow was eerie. Naturally I had to pull out my camera and document the the conflagration. However, it was infuriating being unable to help control the flames.

As awful as the fire seemed while it was blazing, amazingly the next morning it seemed as though far less ground had burned than I had though. This was a sentiment shared by many friends who had also observed the flames. I think it was because the night highlights the flames while no landmarks are visible to provide a frame of reference.

The worst of the damage is visible from the northwest. However, even here there are more green trees and unburned brush than I would have expected. In a few years, I am willing to guess that manzanita will already be encroaching again.

From the south, the damage was less obvious. The most noticeable result of the fire was the break cut in with a tractor. We had watched the bulldozer’s lights as it moved up the Spring Hill Trail until it was near the fire. No doubt the trail will have to be rehabbed after the damage necessarily inflicted upon it.

The day after the fire, crews were still visible dousing the flames. This was made easier by the presence of a well at the summit of Spring Hill (at least I am assuming they are using the well, otherwise it would be a long way to run their hoses up there).

In the end, the fire wasn’t as destructive as it looked like it would be. Nonetheless, it was a sober reminder that even in the lush spring months fire is still a danger in this dry climate.