Fire, Hanging In The Sky

Posted by bubbasuess on September 9, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Shasta Valley. 4 Comments

August, a month of surprising and beautiful extremes on Mount Shasta, passed by and September arrived. School commenced and work continues. Yet, though there is some congruence to rhythms of human of human and activity and the seasons, for now the summer season persists, though the “summer” is now at an end. I, for one, am most pleased by this. Fall is my favorite season of the year and now it draws nigh. Truth be told, despite some warmer (or downright hot) days, the wind has left its cutting edge of summer heat and now blows with an autumn mood.

This was certainly the case a few nights ago. After days of clear sky, a sudden burst of cloud cover motivated my wife and I to head up into the Shasta Valley to enjoy some warm and breezy wandering and some incredible views. Mount Shasta, as always, dominates the scene no matter where you are in the valley.

The light was gold as the sun descended toward the horizon. The valley’s golden grass glowed and waved as it was buffeted by steady but gentle breeze. After all these years, it still amazes me that the summit of Mount Shasta looms nearly 12,000 feet above the valley floor.

After the sun sank behind the Little Scott Mountains, which hem in the Shasta Valley on its western edge, the daylight eased into alpenglow. Mount Shasta turned red, as did the exposed corners of the clouds overhead. Even without a deep snowpack to really reflect the sunset colors, Mount Shasta’s andesite flanks still radiate the warmth of the sunset.

While the spectacle of waning lights on Mount Shasta was captivating, as it always is, our attention was turned to the north. Beyond the hill ahead of us, it was obvious that the clouds were doing something altogether different and it was filled with lush color! We headed that direction, hoping to round the edge of the hill before the light faded.

When the view became clearer, what we beheld was incredible. The clouds were aflame and contrasting beautifully against the darkening blue sky. The higher clouds, bathed in more sunlight as the declination of the  setting sun changed. The deepest color was the lowest clouds, which in this case was actually a wispy summer rain falling somewhere over the east side of the Shasta Valley. This squall caught the light like a spark to tinder and set the rain ablaze. It looked like fire hanging in the sky.

It is not often that the pyrotechnics over the Goosenest overshadow what occurs in the sky above Mount Shasta. Though rare, this was certainly one of those times. If fire hung in the sky over Mount Shasta like that, it would have been a most superlative spectacle. As it was, it blessed both the Goosenest with memorable élan and the witnesses with affirmation of good things.

Still, even with a display such as the sky aflame, Mount Shasta cannot be ignored and as the final color faded from the clouds overhead, the mountain brooded over its domain, awaiting the nearing autumn, when snow will fall, leaves will turn and, Lord willing, I will be there with my camera.

Mount Shasta’s August Of Extremes

Posted by bubbasuess on August 26, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, sunrise, sunset, Wildflowers. 12 Comments

What a odd month August has been. It began beautifully, with explosive wildflowers at high elevations on Mount Shasta. Though the early part of the month was still afflicted with smoke, we continued to head up to the Old Ski bowl to enjoy the clear air and the ongoing riots of wildflowers. My wife and I like to take our kids up in the evening and have dinner up at the Old Ski Bowl. Sometimes we prepare it there, other times at home but we always enjoy the meal with our family and then hike around. One of those post-repast jaunts took us down to the upper portion of Panther Meadow. The flowers were in excellent form.

The conditions were fantastic but it seemed like the flowers just a hair shy of peak. It’s always hard to catch it at “peak” because the different flowers open at different times. The flowers at this time were mostly paintbrush, sneezeweed, onion and some lupine. The lupine was much more profuse in drier areas but there was some at the meadow too.

I went back up a few days later and caught the meadow about as peak as I have ever seen it. It was a magnificent kaleidoscope of red, purple and yellow against the lush grass green, all crowned by the magnificent tower of Mount Shasta. The light was thick and glowing, imprinting the entire scene indelibly on my memory.

Of course, I could not limit this trip to Panther Meadow. The Old Ski Bowl demanded attention too. The wildflowers there were still in excellent form. The lupine were particularly thick. It was as thick as I have ever seen it there, even better, perhaps, than the epic tree line spring of August 2017. There was more snow on the mountain and everything was greener but the wildflowers weren’t as thick.

A few very difficult weeks passed by. My family and I suffered some hard loses but we endured the ordeal and on the other side of them we were blessed with an unseasonably cool storm that gave us lots of lightning and rain and, on Mount Shasta, snow! I have seen it snow on Mount Shasta in August only a handful of times, and generally speaking it is just a light dusting. The last time I saw it happen was August, 2022, the year it snowed on Mount Shasta every month of the year.

This time, however, it was not a mere dusting. It was a full-fledged wintery storm. There were several inches of snow deposited on the mountain, going all the way down below the tree line. It was a white mountain once again! However, the day after the storm passed, the mountain was mostly left in the clouds, only peering out a few times. I was able to catch some images of the mountain but would have to wait until the next day for better conditions.

Naturally, I had to head out for the sunrise on the white mountain. Though it had been cold all the previous day, already some of the snow had melted or blown off by the wind. Nonetheless, it was great to see the mountain with the morning glow on the white flanks and dark towers. This was not a normal August sunrise!

The vantage point I went to was one I frequent in the winter and spring but have, to the best of my knowledge, never utilized for a sunset in August. Such was the rare nature of the occasion. Of course, with all the snow, I was not going to leave it at that. I needed to go up to the Old Ski Bowl!

This was as beautiful an August morning as I have witnessed up at the Old Ski Bowl. Not only was there a lovely layer of snow everywhere, but the wildflowers were there. The lupine weren’t as thick as they had been a few weeks earlier but some of the clusters still had profuse blossoms on them. However, the real star now was the rabbit brush.

The yellow flowers of the rabbit brush struck a bright contrast against the white snow. Vast fields of the yellow blossoms seemed so much more obvious against the snow than it normally is. At least it seemed that way.

Seeing the crags of Mount Shasta blanketed in white was also stunning. Though deeper snow is always desirable, I like conditions best when there is plenty of snow on the mountain overall but none on the spires and protruding strata. This permits the crags and strata lines to be bold and make them pop visually. This amount of August snow achieved this.

And yet, to think that this was August, with fresh snow on the mountain with crags highlighted and the showy flowers still thriving seemed so incongruous. It was a terrific morning.

Of course, morning wasn’t enough. My wife and I decided to head up for another dinner at the Old Ski Bowl. It’s not every evening we can enjoy a sunset with wildflowers and snow at the same time!

After dinner we roamed the rocky slopes. My younger kids scampered across the rocks playing some of their favorite mountain games. My wife and I drank in the beauty. I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was still shocked by how much the snow had melted. It still remained thick on the higher flanks of Mount Shasta and provided a glorious contrast to the thick blanket of flowers at the tree line.

The sun slowly set as we enjoyed the spectacle. We were reluctant to leave and call it a night (note my kids running around, easily spotted by my daughter’s white hat!).

Finally, with the sun well below the horizon and the alpenglow fading on Mount Shasta, we bade farewell to the wonder that we beheld. We knew this was one of those rare and unusual sights that so frequently yet uniquely grace Mount Shasta. I have no idea when we might see such a mix of dense wildflowers and fresh snow in August, but this has been a mighty gift to a weary family. For these things and many others, we are filled with gratitude. We drank deeply from the well of beauty and are renewed and ready to tackle the coming school year. Thank you Lord.

A Beautiful Start To August

Posted by bubbasuess on August 3, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, sunset, Wildflowers. 2 Comments

Light, clouds and profuse wildflowers made July’s final sunset majestic.

As is typical, the Old Ski Bowl finally opened up at the end of July. My family has always enjoyed heading up there with dinner, enjoying the sights while we eat together and then spending the sunset scrambling on the rocks and hiking about. This year the wildflowers are riotous and make for a gorgeous highlight to the already spectacular setting. Add in a few clouds and July closed out in spectacular form.

I wanted to try to capture the same flowers in the morning light, so I headed back up early in the morning. I arrived at the Old Ski Bowl a little before 6AM. It was quite, with a light breeze. The feel of the lonely wind and the silence take me back to trips I made in the Sierra when I was young, sitting atop granite ridges (for some reason, my memory always places those trips in the fall) and feeling the gentle breeze and the contradictory stillness that penetrated everything. This was one of those times.

When I arrived, the view to the south was dominated by the smoke that was emanating from the now largely smoldering Park Fire. That conflagration, which began 115 miles to the southeast, had been vomiting smoke for a week or so and now it was in the soupy, swirling phase before it finally got flushed out to wherever it finally is exiled. Thankfully, though the area to the south was think with smoke, the pall was held at bay at the Sacramento River canyon and only a thin haze hung over the Strawberry Valley (wherein  lies the town of Mount Shasta).

Note the clouds’ change of direction.

While the smoke seemed nearly ubiquitous to the south, at nearly 8,000 feet on the side of Mount Shasta, there was naught of the aerosol remnants of forests further south. Sunrise finally arrived and I was able to watch the light’s advance down the cliffs of Green Butte and then across the expanse of the Old Ski Bowl. I love watching isolate shafts of light illuminating focused points of trees and rock, while the rest of the area around them remain in shadow. It adds a great deal of texture to the already textured landscape.

All the flowers finally in the light, I captured a few more images before packing up my gear and getting ready to head home. Though the clouds weren’t as beautiful as the night before, it was still a stunning morning in amidst the lushness of the Old Ski Bowl.

As I was heading home, I noticed the smoke was thickening to the south. Areas that were visible an hour earlier were now smothered.

Nonetheless, the Sacramento River canyon continued to hold the smoke at bay. The Castle Crags, on the canyon’s west side, remained visible and the morning light turned the granite walls orange.

Further east, however, was some cause for despair. The smoke was a dense stew, with only the hazy silhouettes of Lassen Peak and nearby Crater Peak visible on the horizon. Their elevation was the only reason these were visible from the slopes of Mount Shasta.

The smoke did not threaten for long and the changing weather system pushed the haze out altogether. Clouds gathered throughout the day and by sunset the air was clear, save that it nearly glowed with the reflected light of alpenglow. Not only was the light gorgeous but there was the added bonus of a nascent lenticular forming near Shastina. Now this was a summer sunset! It also brought showers throughout the night and into the next day.

By evening, the clouds had largely cleared. To the east only a vestige of the system that had cooled things down for 24 hours remained clinging to the summit of Mount Shasta. The light of the setting sun light things up gently and made a beautiful scene sublime. I hope this is the start of a beautiful month here around the mountain.

A July Surprise

Posted by bubbasuess on July 31, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Lenticular Clouds, Mount Shasta. 1 Comment

A lenticular over Mount Shasta alight with alpenglow.

Summer is typically the least active time of year when it comes to lenticular clouds over Mount Shasta. Often the sky is completely devoid of any clouds at all, particularly when it is hot. Every now and then, conditions turn just right to bring about a fantastic summer lenticular. This was true last week, when Mount Shasta was graced with an epic, day-long display of lenticulars.

I tend to be an early riser which has had the benefit of often catching spectacular Mount Shasta sunsets. However, the summer sunrises come so early, I often just wake up and check the webcam to see if I am tempted to head out. On this occasion, I had been up late but still woke up around 5 AM. I checked the webcam and too my surprise there was a magnificent formation over the mountain. I leaped out of bed and was on the road in a couple of minutes. I got to a good vantage point quickly and was able to capture an image just as the light was beginning to fade. I am grateful to have made it when I did!

Being early and wide awake, I headed out into the Shasta Valley to get another perspective. The valley was a little hazy from the fires but the view was still great. Another marvelous morning vista.

Though it continued to fluctuate throughout the day, the cloud was persistent. Often the lenticulars will fade around mid-day and sometimes, with great frustration, just before sunset. This was not the case, fortunately. It hung around all day and I was able to get more images as it progressed.

By evening the cloud had shrunk but was still hanging on. I was confident it would last through sunset, so I headed up to the old nordic park vista. As I go there, it looked like a new formation was building higher up, above Mount Shasta. Alas, it was not to be and it dissipated without getting too big.

In spite of the secondary cloud’s demise, the original lenticular persevered and made for terrific sunset spectacle. Eventually the sun faded away and both mountain and cloud were left in the fading glow of dusk. By morning, the lenticular was gone, having graced us with a superlative sight for only one day…but what a day.

Rocket’s Red Glare And Smoke In The Air

Posted by bubbasuess on July 26, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta. 2 Comments

Smoke from the Shelly Fire adds color to an otherwise clear sky.

This is getting to be a troubling theme. I start a post then life kicks it aside and it takes a long time to get back to it. In this case, after Independence Day, I had a very busy week then headed out to eastern Oregon and Idaho for a fantastic roadtrip (Steens Mountain, Wallowa Mountains etc). Now back for less than I week, I am finally tackling not just the 4th of July, but the rest of the month as well. It’s all I can do at this point!

What can one say about July 2024? It has been hot and it has been smoky, to varying degrees. It has, at times, managed to be gorgeous in spite of the challenges. Thankfully, now, at the end of the month, the heat seems to be breaking up a bit.

Independence Day came right at the onset of the heat that has persisted all month. My family has never had a single tradition for where to go to watch the fireworks launched over Lake Siskiyou. We’ve gone to the launch site (have friends that are involved with the fireworks), to friends houses nearby etc. This year, to beat the heat, we headed up to a spot with a great view up on Mount Shasta. Though warm, it was noticeably cooler here and the view of Lake Siskiyou, as well as the high peaks of the Castle Crags Wilderness is excellent.

As the sunlight faded, the sky turned pink and the lights of the town increased. Boats were visible gathering on the lake, anticipating the coming show.

Soon it was more dark than not and the focus of activity was on the lake. More boats continued to arrive.

Finally the show began. The echo of the explosion was a nice feature.

It was a great pyrotechnic demonstration. Independence Day is certainly one of my favorite holidays, not just for the customary summer bacchanalia but for the underlying principles and events that it recognizes. Thank you Lord!

Around the same time, the Shelly Fire was getting started. It was likely started by PCT hikers, though this is as yet unconfirmed. My sources tell me that there has been a heavy investigative effort to identify thruhikers in the area. The fire topped out at around 15,500 acres and came close to burning Kidder Creek, a popular camp that is well connected to my community here in Mount Shasta.

Smoke from the Shelly Fire began to drift into the area right after the 4th of July. The sky had been unrelentingly cloudless and dull but the smoke add textures and colors. It’s an unfortunate way to make things prettier, but it is a sliver of silver in the lining.

 

The next few days were alternatingly hazy or clear, depending on the whims of the wind. One morning saw an near-lenticular but it soon gave up the ghost before coalescing into a full scale display of Mount Shasta’s own form of pyrotechnics. It still made for a beautiful morning and a break from the clear-skied monotony.

At times the weather was clear, with the smoke blown out somewhere to the north but even so, it remained hot. This brought its own set of problems, as the snow melt at time made feints down Cascade Gulch and toward town.

Mudflows of this scale began almost a year ago, when the remnants of Hurricane Hilary sailed through the area. Since then they have occurred intermittently and seemingly with greater, though irregularity and with little provocation. They have already altered the landscape of Mount Shasta and encroached within a few blocks of downtown.

Cascade Gulch mudflow’s new arroyo near the high school.

A streetview look at the same area a few years ago. Note the telephone pole, which is now guarded by riprap. 

It is a fascinating phenomenon to observe. Who knows how the sporadic mudflows will end. No doubt some kind of remediation is needed to save property, but for a variety of reasons it is a tricky issue.

Now, as July crawls to a close, we have had some real interesting things happen in the sky (more on that soon) and all is overshadowed by the fast growing Park Fire down by Chico. Smoke is drifting north through Mount Shasta again, though not the full plume issued by that fast-growing conflagration. Hopefully it is brought to heel soon and August can be a more mellow month.

The Golden Edge Of The Valley

Posted by bubbasuess on June 21, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Shasta Valley. 1 Comment

Burned in 2021, the fringe of the Shasta Valley now pops with flowers.

It’s been a lush spring in Mount Shasta. I documented the foxtail superbloom we had at Truchas Ridge in the Shasta Valley. The trend has continued elsewhere in the valley, especially along the southern fringe, where the valley runs against the northern slopes of Mount Shasta. In this area, the wooly sunflower was explosive, with the small gold flowers covering the hillsides and at the foot of Mount Shasta. In the late afternoon light, it made the Mount Shasta and the valley itself seem like it was glowing.

This area was burned in 2021 by the Lava Fire, which torched over 30,000 acres on the slopes of Mount Shasta. Since that fire, the wildflowers through here have been pretty awesome, but typically they have been more diverse, with showy displays of lupine, paintbrush and penstemon. While those were present this time around, the sunflowers were dominant and the yarrow also made a showy display.

Though the scars of the Lava Fire are still very evident it is nice to see the recovery in full swing. There are not too many snags standing in many areas and now the hills are covered in grass in brush. However, in the current conditions, even those denizens are choked out by the golden cheer of the flowers. It gives one hope for the continued recovery of this area.

Off to the east was the low slope of the Graham Lava Flow, the largest such on Mount Shasta. Highway 97 skirts right along the northern edge of this massive pile of black rock. Except this time it was not so black, as even there, the wooly sunflower was quite showy and brightened up the dark remnants of past eruptions. In the distance, the craggy face of Sheep Rock was highlighted by the sinking sun and beckoned to those who are interested in mystery and exploration.

First June Fades On Mount Shasta

Posted by bubbasuess on June 3, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, sunset. 2 Comments

No alpenglow but the late evening light makes Mount Shasta glow.

The changes life has wrought has precluded me getting out as much as I used too. Still, when the opportunity presents itself, I will leap at the chance at even the barest of opportunities to spend some time outside. Whether exploring or just bearing witness to the beauty of the land around me, it is all enriching.

Such an chance fell to me on Saturday, the first day of June. The sky had been active all day and a cooler weather system was in bound. Consequently, the sky had been turbulent all day and there had been sporadic, lenticulish clouds about. After dinner I was able to head up to Castle Lake. There, the dogwoods and ceanothus were in full bloom and the north facing snow was still deep. Mount Shasta, still armored in ice loomed across the valley. Above it the sky was a cloudy maelstrom. It was glorious to these spectacle-starved eyes.

I perched in “the spot” and watched the sunset, capturing images sporadically as the sunlight ebbed and flowed and then, inevitably, creeped up the mountain before finally fading off of the summit. All the while the clouds swirled in dynamic knots overhead. I enjoyed it immensely and it gave me hope that more such opportunities may present themselves again soon.

Unrelated to the sunset, a few days earlier I had been checking the Mount Shasta livecam when a visitor landed on one of the support lines. Hanging out for a while before flying off, it was a humorous and unexpected episode. I have been watching the cam for years and had been observing when a bird landed on it. Who knows what else will happen soon.

A Superbloom Of Sorts At Truchas Ridge

Posted by bubbasuess on May 29, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Shasta Valley, Truchas Ridge. 4 Comments

Echo Point, blanketed in a riot of grass and flowers, yields a grand sunset view.

North of Mount Shasta is a beautiful high desert region called the Shasta Valley. Depending on criteria for measurement, it has over 210,000 acres of lush river plains, rugged hills and vast fields. The valley lies in Mount Shasta’s rainshadow. While the surrounding mountains are filled with deep forests, with lakes and even glaciers, the valley itself is a land of sagebrush and juniper. The contrast of the lush alpine lands with the arid valley enhances the beauty of the region and provides a striking dichotomy when viewing Mount Shasta’s towering, glacier-clad spire from the dry hills.

Despite being an arid landscape, the last couple years have seen a lot of rain in the Shasta Valley. The winter of 2023 brought historic amounts of precipitation and the subsequent winter brought a more than normal number of rainstorms. The end result has been a pair of unusual blooms when things warmed up in the spring. In 2023, mustard was profuse, in quantities far beyond its normal growth. Lupine was also abundant. Now, in 2024, unfortunately, the spring has brought a more bloom that is at once beautiful but also unpleasant.

This year the valley is filled with foxtails. The fields look lush and beautiful but walking through them can be…frustrating. Boots are certainly in order these days. It’s going to be a rough year for dogs in the valley. Already we have seen an increase in the number of foxtail issues at the animal hospital and these have started earlier than normal. However, not all the growth is unwanted. Along with the foxtails we have enjoyed the increase in wildflowers. Penstemon, lupine and yarrow are all abundant. The real star though is the wooly sunflower. These have burst from the dry ground in numbers we have never witnessed and they leave the rocky hills with intense patches of bright yellow.

The bloom has certainly brought an unusual beauty to the valley. The sunflower in particular has given the hills a burst of color that is not part of the area’s usual palette. Unfortunately, at Truchas Ridge it has made a lot more work for me. Where I had previously cut in roads and trails, these have now been nearly obliterated by the grasses and yielded a potential fire hazard from driving through it.

I’m going to have to get out there with the brush hog and cut the roads down. With the summer temps, I will be most effective working on it around sunrise. First priority is the road up to Echo Point. That is shorter and, at least at this time, more consistently used. After that, I will have to cut in the half mile from the road into Tesuque Valley. Then I will have to cut in the trail out to Pecos Point. It’s a good thing I like being out there…

Bear Peak: An Overlooked Trinity Divide Peak

Posted by bubbasuess on May 21, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Klamath Mountains, Mount Shasta, Pacific Crest Trail, Trinity Divide. Leave a comment

Snowy Bear Peak, overlooked and forgotten.

Soaring 14,179 feet above sea level, Mount Shasta is one of the tallest peaks in California and the 2nd highest peak in the entire Cascade Range, which stretches from Northern California to just across Washington’s border with Canada. However, in the region around Mount Shasta none of the peaks are even close in height. This is why famed western poet Joaquin Miller described the mountain as “lone as God and white as a winter moon”.  It truly has no peer among the other peaks.

As far as the tallest peaks around Mount Shasta, there seems to be a ceiling on their height. Not counting subordinate peaks on Mount Shasta itself, only Mount Eddy exceeds 9,000 feet (and only just barely, climbing to 9,025 feet). Of the rest of the highest peaks in the area, they all exceed 8,000 feet. They are:

China Mountain (8,542)

Whaleback (8,528)

Ash Creek Butte (8378)

Goosenest (8,280)

More about these peaks can be read here.

This leads us to Bear Peak. Unrecognized, unofficially named and officially ignored and forgotten, it is the only other peak in the Mount Shasta area to exceed 8,000 feet (other than Mount Shasta and Mount Eddy’s subordinate peaks on their respective massifs). Rising to a height of 8,001 feet, it is the only other summit in the region that breaks the 8,000 foot ceiling. Though a few peaks come close to that significant marker, all but Bear Peak fall short. This elevates this otherwise humble summit it much more rarified company.

Bear Peak is located along the crest of the Trinity Divide, just south of Mount Eddy. It is the apex of the divide that separates the North Fork of the Sacramento River from the Middle Fork of the Sacramento River. The north side of the peak is the headwaters of Bear Creek, a significant early tributary of the Trinity River.

Bear Peak seen from the Cement Bluff. 

Although it is among the tallest peaks in the region, Bear Peak is not particularly prominent compared to its near neighbors. It’s southern aspect, which rises above Toad Lake, is not particularly impressive. However, the eastern and northern faces offer much more interest, consisting of shear cliffs of bare rock rising above the surrounding forest. The northern aspect is particularly pleasing, with some nice crags protruding from the mountain’s flanks.

Bear Creek saddle offers a good perspective on Bear Peak.

Geologically, Bear Peak is consistent with much of the Eddy Range. It is composed of peridotite and serpentine similar to Mount Eddy. As with much of the Klamath Mountains, the rock type can shift dramatically in quick order and this is the case with Bear Peak. The nearby ridge, the high point of which is only 16 feet lower than Bear Peak, is composed of granitic rock. These shifts in composition are sudden and offer a fascinating glimpse into the geologic forces that have made these mountains.

Mount Shasta viewed from the PCT, just below Bear Peak.

The best access for Bear Peak is from the PCT, which traverses the flanks of the peak a few hundred feet below the summit. The quickest way to connect to the trail is via Toad Lake, where a short climb up from the lake on a well made trail leads to the PCT. From there it is a quick mile or so to the eastern should, which is the best point to ascend the summit.

Aside from the Mount Eddy massif, Bear Peak is the highest point in the Eddy Range. It’s anonymity is probably due to its like of prominence, its lack of proximity to regularly used trailheads (the PCT section between Toad Lake and Deadfall Lakes is usually the domain of backpackers, not hikers) and its position at the west end of long ridge that separates the Middle and North Forks of the Sacramento River. This ridge has a tendency to visually obscure Bear Peak. This means the peak is hard to see from the bottom of the Strawberry Valley. From higher up on Mount Shasta, the peak is more obvious to observers.

Bear Peak, in center with snow, is visible from Bull Lake.

Despite lacking prominence, Bear Peak is much more obvious from the west. This is due in large measure to the other peaks of the Eddy Range (other than Mount Eddy itself) being located well east of the range’s crest. Bear Peak’s height also means it retains snow further into the summer than most of the other peaks of the Eddy Range.

Sunset view of Mount Eddy, Bear Peak and the Eddy Range from Mount Shasta.

Bear Peak may not be a dramatic peak or a summit that is widely visible from throughout the area like the other mountains that exceed 8,000 feet. However, its height, position on the Trinity Divide/Eddy Range and its geologic composition make it an interesting one nonetheless. Whether looking for grand sweeping vistas or the tagging of high points, it is a peak that should not be overlooked by the few hikers who head into that lonely but beautiful area.

Avalanche And Aurora

Posted by bubbasuess on May 19, 2024
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta. 4 Comments

Alpenglow lights up Mount Shasta a few days after a massive avalanche.

It’s been a busy time on and around Mount Shasta since the beginning of May. Not only did we get a good dose of late snow but that snow yielded a dramatic avalanche on the side of the mountain. This was pretty late in the year for an avalanche that large. All of this played out beneath one of the most glorious cosmic spectacles we are likely to see in our lifetimes.

The dark spot left of center is the avalanche debris field.

The avalanche occurred a few days after the snow came to an end. It is located on Mount Shasta’s west face, just to the north of the jagged towers of Casaval Ridge. This is the same area that saw mudflows coming off of Casaval Ridge in during the bizarre remnant-hurricane we had in August 2023.

The blue area in the above image marks the area where the snow broke away and slid nearly 700 feet. My father and my son worked together, estimating some basic dimensions of the area and depth and made a SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess) on the volume of snow displaced in this avalanche. Their calculations came to about 7 million tons of snow were moved in the avalanche. That’s a lot of ice moving on the mountain. I can only imagine what the wind caused by the air displacement was like.

Alpenglow on the avalanche.

I love these kinds of events on Mount Shasta. The mountain is so massive in scale, the reality of its presence sometimes recedes into the background of my mind but then an event like this avalanches occurs and, while enormous in its own right, it tends to humanize the scale of Mount Shasta and make the mountain more immanent.

 

On the other end of the event spectrum is the solar storms that occurred a few days after the snow. The unusually large coronal mass ejections from the sun caused auroras that were visible much, much further south than the normal aurora borealis that appears in the arctic. The event was predicted to be visible a couple days in advance so a number of people were out to take in this glorious event. I headed out to our new property and set up my tripod and camera. The green light on the horizon was visible and the dark sky had a reddish tint to it. Rays and streamers danced across the sky as well.

As awesome as the show was, through the longer exposures on my camera, the sky lit up with red and green and the active nature of the lights was really highlighted. I was able to get some good shots of the aurora with the silhouette of Mount Shasta on the horizon. It was a fantastic, probably once-in-a-lifetime scene.

In the end, where the avalanche brought the mountain’s scale to a human level, the aurora reversed this and overshadowed the mountain on a cosmic level. What a strange but tremendous series of events.