Sonoma County Trails: A Look At Conditions After The Fires (2nd Edition Of My Book Coming Soon Too!)

Posted by bubbasuess on May 18, 2019
Posted in: Hiking, Mount Shasta, Napa County, Sonoma County. Tagged: , . 3 Comments

A trail view of the Sonoma Valley.

Over the last couple of months I have begun work on the 2nd edition of my book Hiking California’s Wine Country. While I am excited to have the opportunity to work on a newer version of my book, one of the primary reasons for it is not a happy one at all: the October 2017 fires. Those devastating conflagrations consumed thousands of homes but also burned over thousands of acres of wild and park land. In some ways, this was the more devastating loss at the time of the fire. From a human perspective, I knew my family would recover the loss and this has certainly been the case. However, those lands that burned, the natural beauty incinerated, would be unlikely to recover in my lifetime. It was profoundly discouraging. However, despite the fury of the fires, things are not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. This is due to both nature’s natural generative powers but also a result of nature’s preventative measures built into the landscape.

Two weeks ago I headed south to begin rehiking the trails in Sonoma and Napa Counties. As I noted in my Northern California Review on Sonoma County, Herb Caen once identified heaven as a “place resembling Sonoma County in the spring”. While May is normally slightly outside spring’s peak in that region, due to the wet winter it was still lush and green, the creeks were still flowing vigorously and the wildflowers were rioting all over the hills. The timing for all of this was since I would be able to record the condition of these trails in one of their prettiest seasons. Moreover, since I am doing a 2nd edition, I have the opportunity to add a few new trails that were not in existence when I finished my first version of the book.

It turned out to be a hard but fantastic week of hiking. I knocked out nearly 50 miles in 4 days and climbed about 8,000 feet. Other than out on the coast, I have not hiked a single mile in Sonoma County since the fires, so it was great to spend time with some old friends. The Wine Country really is a gorgeous area to hit the trail!

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When the fires first erupted in evening of the 8th of October, 2017, there were initially several small fires, nearly a dozen in number. However, over the next week they all combined until there were three massive conflagrations. These were the Tubbs, Atlas and Nuns Fires. The Tubbs and Nuns burned in Sonoma County, the Atlas in Napa County. All of them burned in southern end of the Mayacama Mountains, a range that forms the spine of the Wine County.

For this trip, I made the decision to focus my attention on the areas affected by the Nuns and Atlas Fires. This is where the majority of trails were affected by the flames. I will rehike trails in the Tubbs Fire later this summer. With regards to the trails in particular, the area hardest hit was the Sonoma Valley. This happens to be the region with the highest concentration of trails in the entire Wine Country. Annadel, Sugarloaf Ridge and Jack London State Parks, all of them large parks, are all found here. Hood Mountain and Sonoma Valley Regional Parks are also located in the Sonoma Valley. These are run by the county and Hood Mountain, like the state parks, is a large, spectacular wilderness park. All of these parks, with the exception of Jack London, were overrun by the Nuns Fire.

I had not been able to bring myself to even drive through the Sonoma Valley since I had little idea how things were going to look. Driving through on my way down from Mount Shasta, the northern half of the valley was obviously altered, but I was encouraged to see that it was not nearly as devastated as I had anticipated. It was obvious that fires had ripped through the area but there were more green trees than I had hoped for and it was not immediately filling with a sense of doom like I thought it would.

Once I started hiking, I was shocked how much of the forests were still intact, despite having been burned through. This is also the case in Napa County as well, where the Atlas Fire ate through parts of Skyline Wilderness Park. I am happy to report that, yes, there is significant damage in some areas, but, for the most part, nature did indeed preserve much of its beauty and is restoring those areas that were totally consumed.

I have set up a few before and after pictures to give some sense of how things look. This was not something I had initially set out to do so please forgive the lack of perfect alignment of the images.

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Without doubt, there are areas that are completely devastated but as these images show, many of the trees withstood the flames, protected by their bark. The trees’ natural resistance to fire worked as designed. When lower intensity flames passed through the forest, it burned the low brush and lower branches but the bark protected the trunks and the higher canopy survived. Naturally the grasses have returned with great vigor.

Sonoma Valley Regional Park is a microcosm of this. When looking at satellite images of the park just after the fire, I had anticipated complete devastation, yet when I arrived at the park, it looked like nothing had ever happened!

One interesting thing I noticed, and is evident in the before and after images, is that the areas that were most affected by the flames was that which was covered in chaparral. Almost any chaparral that was touched the fire was incinerated down to the ground. It was like a giant fuel blanket, just waiting to be lit. Examine the images closely and it will be obvious that the areas where the fire’s impact is most apparent is where chaparral had once covered the hills.

The view from Bald Mountain in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. The fire damage is obvious.

The Sugarloaf Ridge/Hood Mountain area seemed to be the region hardest hit by the fire. Here large swaths of trees were totally burned, leaving forests of ghostly snags.

Yet even here, the hardest hit area, restoration is well underway. The grass has returned, wildflowers are exploding all around and the process of breaking down the snags is beginning. Beauty abounds in the midst of the ruins:

While the snags can be discouraging, there is a bonus to the fire having burned through some of these areas. Where brush and dense canopies once obscured what would be otherwise be great views, now those views are wide open and ready to be enjoyed! Hood Mountain once notoriously had no views from its brush-covered summit. This is no longer the case!

The vistas themselves are still spectacular, despite the ravages of the fires. The view from Bald Mountain is an excellent example. Looking down on the worst burned areas, it is hard to argue with the magnificence of the spectacle. Definitely enlarge these to see the detail!

Bald Mountain view looking west.

Bald Mountain view looking east.

As an aside, I took the liberty of annotating the panorama of the view looking west. It is shocking how many things you can see from this one vantage point:

1. Napa  2. Mount Diablo   3. Mount Veeder   4. San Francisco Bay   5. Sonoma   6. San Francisco  7. Tolay Lake        8. Mount Tamalpais  9. Sonoma Valley  10. Sonoma Mountain  11. Jack London State Park  12. Kenwood   13. Petaluma Gap  14. Rohnert Park  15. Adobe Canyon   16. Bennett Mountain   17. Taylor Mountain   18. Sebastopol   19. Annadel State Park   20. Downtown Santa Rosa   21. Gunsight Rock   22. Hood Mountain   23. Mohrhardt Ridge   24. Dry Creek Valley  25. Alexander Valley  26. Geyser Peak  27. The Geysers  28. Cobb Mountain   29. Mount Saint Helena  30. Table Rock  31. The Palisades  32. Snow Mountain  33. Saint John Mountain

In the end, I am quite encouraged by how well the areas affected by the fires are doing. Sonoma and Napa Counties have always been spectacular hiking destinations, if a little underappreciated as such. After the fires, they remain beautiful and spectacular. These areas deserve to be regarded as such. I hope as many people as possible will read this report and head down there. The economies have been struggling since the fires and with fewer people visiting the area, now is the ideal time to explore the trails (and wineries and restaurants etc.) in the Wine Country!

 

Wild Clouds Herald Wet Weather Around Mount Shasta

Posted by bubbasuess on May 13, 2019
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Lenticular Clouds, Mount Shasta. Leave a comment

Here in Mount Shasta we have had a great run of weather for nearly a month now. April seemed to dive right into summer, with warm temperatures and fantastically sunny weather. Considering it is still spring, this seemed like it was too good to be true and that the excellent conditions were destined to change at some point. That point is upon us. The forecast for the next week and beyond is for rain and significantly colder temperatures, dropping down to near freezing at night. Spring persists here in Mount Shasta.

Of course, a significant shift in weather patterns means a significant change of a lenticular event. This was certainly the case today, where a variety of cloud formations manifested, dissipated and reformed over the mountain through out the day.

The morning started with a small but obvious wave hovering just off Mount Shasta. It wasn’t much but it was an indicator that the systems were indeed in flux:

Throughout the day, disks continued to take shape around Mount Shasta. They ranged from massive waves to tight stacks of small lens shaped disks. I was occupied with various tasks throughout the day and could not get away to capture them. In the early afternoon the entire sky was overcast and the sun was heavily filtered. This eventually burned off in time for the sunset . The clouds looked impressive but their rate of change was swift. I was able to slip away just before the sun went down. Things weren’t quite at their peak but it still made for an interesting scene:

Clouds blocked the light from setting Mount Shasta alight with alpenglow. It was not meant to be but there was still an impressive sunset, especially looking to the west. As the sun went down, other lenticulars were lit up. It was a beautiful sight. Hopefully we get one more good sunset before the clouds really settle in for a week or so.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether we get any good sunsets as a result of the incoming storm system but we certainly did get an interesting sunrise. The small cloud that had remained aloft above Mount Shasta at sunset had grown into a massive stack of waves. It was too overcast to allow much color on the clouds but the earliest moments of sunrise did light up the bottom of the stack. It wasn’t much color but it was enough to make things interesting. There were plenty of other formations in the area as well, most notably an impressive stack of disks near Black Butte. I will miss the warm weather for the next few days but the awesome vision in the sky is definitely some compensation!

 

Some Interesting Nuance In A Mount Shasta Sunset

Posted by bubbasuess on May 1, 2019
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta. 2 Comments

As the sun sets, the summit of Mount Shasta is obscured by clouds.

I had a few things to take care of in town this evening and as I headed home there were some nice, puffy clouds surrounding the mountain. I thought this might be another fine sunset similar to the one from last Thursday. As the sun sank, my kids happily played in their “forts”, thrilled to have a later-than-normal bedtime because dad was going to take pictures again. In the end, the clouds dissipated somewhat and the sunset was not nearly as dramatic as I had hoped.

It isn’t fair to say I was disappointed, since I am keenly aware that having the nightly opportunity to witness even an “average” sunset on Mount Shasta is a blessing. However, the sunset did not live up to my high expectations. Nonetheless, there were some interesting and more subtle features in the sunset that I thought deserved some attention.

The first of the notable details was how the cloud formed an interesting cup on its interior. In some ways this resembled the doomed lens shape of a lenticular cloud but the exterior of the cloud was an amorphous, puffy formation. The end result was that, for quite some time, the summit of Mount Shasta was not in the clouds but was nonetheless surrounded by the cloud. The snowy summit was partially visible, though in shrouded in shadow. I wondered what it would be like to be have climbed up to the summit area and be within the cloud area and not engulfed by it. I fascinating set of circumstances to experience, no doubt.

The other interesting element occurred when the cloud began to collapse. The pocket where the summit had been obscured for a while fell apart and the top of Mount Shasta was swallowed up into the cloud. Interestingly though, was the sudden prominence of Misery Cone. This peak is one of four major eruption cones that composes Mount Shasta, the second highest after the main summit of the mountain. The effect was the emphasis of this secondary summit, making it look as though the Misery Cone was the highest point on Mount Shasta. Though a bit of an illusion, it presented the answer to the question (which no one is asking, obviously) of what Mount Shasta would look like if only composed of the three smaller volcanic cones.

I am recognize that my musings are not interesting to a lot of readers but it is a reflection of a slightly different approach I am trying to take. Rather than seek the grand panorama or the spectacular vista all the time, I am pushing myself to look at detail and appreciate the subtle side of an overwhelmingly magnificent mountain. It has been edifying discovering these minor features, where so much beauty is evident but has been concealed by my own approach.

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Looking Back On The Last Mount Shasta Lenticular Season

Posted by bubbasuess on April 30, 2019
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Lenticular Clouds, Mount Shasta. Leave a comment

A spectacular lenticular hovers over Mount Shasta and a wave-like cloud.

A quick glance at this post from a couple years ago shows that the majority of lenticular clouds on Mount Shasta occur between October and March. Without doubt, they can occur other times of the year but October through March, with their changing seasons and frequent storm systems, are the months where one is most likely to see major lenticular events. This proved to be the case once again, with December, January and February producing some particularly memorable events. Strangely enough, there were no significant formations in November, a month that historically produced some of the best lenticular clouds on Mount Shasta. Despite meteorological pyrotechnics getting off to a late start, it proved to be an exceptional season.

As summer approaches, the warm weather tends to stabilize the air currents around the mountain and cause the lenticulars to manifest less frequently. From a hiker’s perspective, the emphasis often shifts from looking up at the mountain from the lowlands to exploring its higher reaches. Hiking migrates to the lakes, ridges and peaks of the Trinity Divide. The focus of the season is different and even though the potential for lenticulars is still there, I don’t always head out in the early morning hunting them.

A few of the lenticular events from this past season were in the upper level of ones I have witnessed. Considering their relative frequency in December and January especially, this really was an exceptionally rich season. Even though I am excited for the summer hiking, I am already looking forward to the kinds of unique clouds Mount Shasta is going to produce when autumn arrives.

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2019 Mount Shasta Spring Hiking Round Up

Posted by bubbasuess on April 27, 2019
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Off Season Trails, Spring Trails. 1 Comment

Spring thunderheads gather around Mount Shasta at sunset.

This past winter seemed particularly long. Though December and January were spectacular, February and March seemed like one long storm. Fortunately, that means that we got ample precipitation and the drought will not be a factor for the coming year at least. Hopefully that means the fire will season will be less of an issue. Now it seems like the weather has decided to skip spring and move right into summer. The weather is perfect for hiking. However, the strong winter means we will have to wait a while longer before the high country trails are clear of snow. Thankfully the Mount Shasta area is blessed with an abundance of trails at lower elevations, which means that hiking and enjoying the fantastic scenery that surrounds us is in full swing. The best spots to explore this time of year are along the McCloud River and in the Castle Crags. Despite the lower elevation, they still offer great mountain experiences. The Gateway Trail is also a good option for spring hiking, with good views of the mountain and a sense of solitude in the near-town but remote backcountry of the trail. The high desert of the Shasta Valley is another great place to explore right now. Of course, all the other areas usually considered good winter destinations are also fantastic places to hike right now. Summer may be coming but the time to get out and hit the trail is now!

Spring Hiking On The Gateway Trail

Located just outside of Mount Shasta City, the Gateway Trail is an impressive and soon-to-be-expanding network of trails that wind their way through the wooded flanks of Mount Shasta. The first couple miles of the trail, however, are largely in the open, passing through rocky terrain that features great perspectives on the white mountain looming over 10,000 feet overhead. Once the trail plunges into the deep forest, numerous loop options exist, along with a few rocky outcroppings and some good vistas of Trinity Divide. Read more here.

Spring Hikes In The Castle Crags

The Castle Crags are one of the most majestic mountain features in California. However, their lower elevation means they are often accessible when higher terrain is still smothered in snow. Still, the granite spires and great rock walls stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the most rugged terrain in the state. Though best hiked in spring, when the creeks are gushing and the weather, especially on the south side where most trails are found, is perfect, the winter may still be a good time to get out and enjoy this gorgeous mountain playground. Read more here.

Spring Hikes On The Upper McCloud River

The McCloud River is one of the great attractions of the Mount Shasta area. With great fishing, a trio a awesome waterfalls, and beautiful forest surroundings, it is a popular destination. The waterfall along the river is a great hike and ought to be considered during winter if the access road is open. However, the McCloud River Trail follows the river for 15 miles and any section of this makes a great hike as long as snow is not covering the ground. Read more here.

Spring Hikes On The Lower McCloud

The Lower McCloud River sees far less activity than the upper section. Separted by Hearst property and the McCloud Reservoir, the two areas are strikingly different. The upper section flows through volcanic terrain while the lower part passes through an outlier of the Klamath Mountain. The terrain is very rugged and can be difficult access during winter. However, when it can be reached, solitude a beautiful scenery await! Read more here.

Spring Hiking At Orr Lake

The area around Orr Lake is a mix of high desert and ponderosa pine forest, surrounding a large, lush meadow fed by remote Butte Creek. It’s higher in elevation than the high desert of the Shasta Valley, which means it is often not a good place to go in winter. However, in spring, it is ideal. The lake is full, the creek is running strong and Mount Shasta, visible beyond the lake, is white. Other than portions of the trail being closed at times for nesting birds, it is a great place to get outside in the months before summer. Read more here.

Spring Hikes In The Shasta Valley

North of Mount Shasta, the desert landscapes of the Shasta Valley offer a strikingly different environment than what is found along most trails in the region. The only conifers here are junipers and sagebrush is ubiquitous. For those that like the desert, the beauty of this area needs no explanation. For those less familiar, there is ample wildlife, beautiful rock formations and magnificent 360 degree views, crowned by some of the best views of Mount Shasta to be found anywhere. Read more here.

Spring Hikes In The Shasta Valley Wildlife Refuge

At the northern end of the Shasta Valley lies a large parkland administered by the State of California. The Shasta Valley Wildlife Refuge was once a working ranch but is now a haven for a variety of wildlife, especially birds. It is also a refuge for hikers looking for incredible vistas. Though it can be closed at times during winter, there are still opportunities to explore it and once it is reopened completely, it is a place of great beauty, beckoning to be explored! Read more here.

Three Spring Trails Near Mount Shasta City 

Mount Shasta City is blessed with a number of great paths within and just outside of its city limits. Three of the best are the Box Canyon, Ney Springs and Spring Hill Trail. These offer solitude, Mount Shasta Vistas, unique history, spectacular geography and even some excellent waterfalls. These all lie just minutes outside of town. Also, don’t forget that Mount Shasta City has some great short trails right in town! Read more here.

Spring Hikes On The Lake Siskiyou Trail

The Lake Siskiyou Trail is an incredible recreational resource just a couple minutes outside of Mount Shasta City. During the summer and fall, a loop trail encircles the lake. However, in winter the seasonal bridges over the Sacramento River are removed. While the loop can’t be hiked without fording the river (extremely dangerous after storms and during high runoff), several sections of the trail still make great out and back hikes. They feature beautiful forests, the lake itself and incredible views. Due to the relatively light winter, the bridges should be places over the Sacramento sooner rather than later this year. Read more here.

Spring Hikes On The Sacramento River

Most people in California think of the Sacramento River as the wide, winding waterway that lazily flows through the Central Valley. Here just below the headwaters, however, it is a swiftly flowing mountain river. Deep in its canyon, the lower elevation means it is often free of snow and the trails are easily accessed. Hiking along the river in winter is a treat that offers a taste of wild mountains for minimal effort. Read more here.

Seldom Seen: Lower Cascade Gulch

Posted by bubbasuess on April 26, 2019
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Seldom Seen. Leave a comment

In size and scope, Mount Shasta is nearly a mountain range unto itself. Like all mountain ranges, it has numerous nooks and crannies that are well off the beaten path. Considering how much of the mountain is unexplored by trails, this means that the preponderance of the mountain is not often appreciated by hikers. Those parts of Mount Shasta that are off the trail but do see people are along the routes that lead to the summit and are all at higher elevations. This still leaves a tremendous amount of the mountain’s geography left isolated, unappreciated and seldom seen.

One such significant part of the mountain landscape is Cascade Gulch. This prominent canyon is easily visible from the west side of Mount Shasta, as is indicated on the Mount Shasta Landmark Locator. It begins at the saddle between Mount Shasta and Shastina, and descends steeply down into Hidden Valley. From there the gulch continues to the west, dropping steeply once again out of Hidden Valley, passing inside the tree line and then leveling off as it heads west through the dense forest of Mount Shasta’s lower elevations. The two images below illustrate its path:

Cascade Gulch, as illustrated above, comprises the upper and middle sections, both above and below the treeline. These are each worth a Seldom Seen post on their own. However, there is a third and lower section that also deserves to be noted. Surrounded by vast expanses of brush and located deep in the untraveled forest on the lower flank of the mountain, it would seem to be the least interesting part of Cascade Gulch. The reality is different however and the lower section exposes some of the most interesting geology found at the lower elevations on Mount Shasta. In particular, a side canyon connected to Cascade Gulch, which I have dubbed “Upheaval Canyon”, has fascinating rock formations and awesome views of the Strawberry Valley, Black Butte and the Trinity Divide. For the few who find their way into this seemingly lost area solitude and fascinating geology wait to be discovered.

Upheaval: layers of stone bent violently upward.

While the goal is worthy, exploring Cascade Gulch can, at times, be a frustrating proposition. The lower elevation means that it is choked with brush. Fortunately, one of the prime attractions of Lower Cascade Gulch is located just above the vast brushfields that blanket much of the area. The location of interest is a spur that branches off of the main stem of Cascade Gulch. Though it may have other unofficial names, I am not aware of them and have dubbed this spur “Upheaval Canyon”. The reason for the appellation is the found in the complex geology that shaped this unusual canyon. The rock is composed of a seemingly innumerable series of thin layers. One spot in particular exhibits the earth’s great upheaval, with the numerous strata bent upward, nearly stretching 180 degrees over on itself. It is a dramatic sight.

Views west from the rocky rim.

The rugged terrain of the canyon is broken into two adjacent segments. The end of each of these segments is marked by small pouroffs. Here, when the water from melting snow flows in early spring, the runoff flows off of a final, rocky lip into the sandy bed of the canyon, often disappearing swiftly into the porous land. In between these two sections the rim of the canyon is lined with large boulders and rocky outcroppings. Climbing up onto the rim yields excellent panoramic views of the Strawberry Valley, Black Butte, and the Trinity Divide, crowned by the massive bulk of Mount Eddy. There is a surprising amount of exposure on the rim, with the canyon nearly 100 feet below. Between the views and the geology, this portion of the lower Cascade Gulch area is a fantastic springtime destination.

Looking up Cascade Gulch to Mount Shasta.

Aside from Upheaval Canyon, much of Lower Cascade Gulch is choked with brush. However, it is not difficult to navigate a route along the rocky bed of the gulch. Good views of both Mount Eddy and Mount Shasta are often enjoyed along this route. Rock outcroppings also dot the landscape, adding a significant amount of interest along the lowest segment of the gulch. In spring, the profusion of brush does have the benefit of making the air exceptional fragrant. While the smells of the forests are fixtures of trails higher up on the mountain, this is a peculiar sensory experience for hiking on Mount Shasta.

Lower Cascade Gulch is testimony to the hidden beauty found all around Mount Shasta. It may not be overwhelmingly beautiful or spectacular like many of the mountain’s grand destinations. Nonetheless, it is a worthy area to explore, boasting intriguing geology, scenic views and a sense of deep isolation. The fact that these can all be found so close to town and still be seldom seen is amazing.

Lower Cascade Gulch Gallery (click to enlarge):

 

An April Lenticular Above Mount Shasta

Posted by bubbasuess on April 22, 2019
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Lenticular Clouds, Mount Shasta. 3 Comments

As the week following Easter began, the forecast was for comfortable, warm temperatures and partly cloudy skies. There was little indication that an impressive lenticular formation would manifest for much of the day. This was easily the best formation that had developed since the middle of March. The way its shape was altered throughout the day is a good example of the drama and spectacle that these clouds add to the majesty of Mount Shasta. April has seemed to be fairly lenticular-free in the past but given the meteorological disturbances today, it was no surprise that an impressive specimen would make an appearance.

Rather than another lengthy report, I think this cloud is best documented with images and some short descriptions. Hopefully this is not the only spring lenticular we get.

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