In keeping with what has been a developing trend, I have a collection of images for the month. So far in 2026 my time has been such that I have been reduced to one summary post per month. Of course, I finally bucked that in June with 2(!) posts, this being the second. I also managed to get a review of how the Sacramento River has continued to reshape the inlet at Lake Siskiyou. It’s hard to believe that was the latest installment in a series, but after a nine year hiatus.
All that being said, I still have some images of Mount Shasta that are worth sharing. Not surprisingly, the month essentially began and ended at Truchas Ridge. There is so much to be done out there but it is satisfying work, as being out there feeds me.
June basically began the way May ended, out at the Truchas Ridge. After doing some trail work, I set up my camera for the sunset. With an abundance of clouds, I was hoping for something interesting to happen. Alas, the clouds were too much and the sunlight was muted, save for a brief burst of color on the interwoven hills that unfolded between the ridge and Mount Shasta. Brief as it was, it was beautiful.
I hope the clouds would improve for the sunrise, but I was skunked again, as there was almost no color once again. The hills were barely illuminated by the rising sun. Though a “bust”, how can one argue with such a view?
It is easy for me to forget the other landmarks around Truchas Ridge because Mount Shasta dominates the horizon, but other mountains, near and far are still incredible. In the case of this early June morning, the peak I call Cabezon (after a prominent peak in New Mexico) made a glowing frame of Mount Eddy. If Eddy were not forever stuck beneath Mount Shasta’s overwhelming shadow, it would be a well-known landmark in its own right.
Then it was off to the northwest corner of Santa Catalina, taking the boy scout troop to camp for a week of scuba and other marine activities. The location of this camp is second to none. Absolutely spectacular.
Upon returning to Mount Shasta, the weather took a turn, from hot to the first summer thunderstorm. The coming storm did not yield any lenticulars but it did offer a beautiful sunrise. Just as before though, the colors were not as strong as I had hoped. The clouds continued to filter the light just enough to mute things.
Still, it is always a great morning when the rugged east face of Shastina is lit up by the rising sun. All the other sides of this massive sub-peak of Mount Shasta are composed of talus and scree but the east side, undercut and scraped clean by the awesome Whitney Glacier, is the exception to the rule. The scree has long been transported down the side of the mountain by the glacier and the rocky strata at the heart of the peak is exposed.
Not surprisingly, the thunderstorm yielded some fresh snow on the summit of Mount Shasta. Seeing this kind of deposit on the mountain reminds me of 2022, when fresh snow was dropped on Mount Shasta every single month of the year.
The fresh snow was still present on the day before the equinox. The colors were once again muted but it was a warm and windy summer evening, a perfect time to be outside enjoying the vistas.
The cooler weather of the last week of June has brought a few more colorful sunsets and some mild lenticular activity. At times, little clouds gathered and dissipated, flirting with the possibility that something interesting might happen. At the same time, the colors were getting a bit richer, giving me hope that a good sunset might yet happen.
My hopes were finally rewarded on the second to last sunset of the month. Naturally, I was out at Truchas Ridge, just as the month began but this time I was not to be denied: the colors were magnificent. There were even a few small stacks of clouds that kept forming and then vaporizing but overall, the sunset was absolutely magnificent. What a grand way to end the month! Thank you Lord!
Hike Mt. Shasta 