Hike Mt. Shasta

Fresh snow blankets Mount Shasta and the surrounding land. 24Jan2017

After posting on the amount of snow that fell here in Mount Shasta, I can’t resist putting up some images of what the mountains around here look like after the big storm. Tuesday proved to be a gorgeous bluebird day and it was impossible not to rejoice at seeing so much snow smothering pretty much everything. The depth varied as you headed north or south from my house (which sits up on a pass) but no matter where you went it was a substantial amount. I can only imagine all the skiers at the ski park or climbing various mountains and cutting up some backcountry powder. I am eager to get some snowshoes on and head out into the woods! Enough of my thoughts though, I want to put up some pictures to show how spectacular the conditions are right now!

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Back on the home front, I had an unusual experience. The road I live on has had so much snow piled up on it that it had pretty much narrowed down from two lanes to one. The wide margins were gone and much of the pavement was swallowed up by towering ice berms. Though two cars could carefully pass, that was becoming a precarious proposition. Today, however, the county pulled out its giant rotary snowplow. This incredibly powerful machine is essentially a giant snow blower. It inched its way down both sides of the street and effortlessly ate away at 6 feet of ice on either side of the road. The sheer icy walls on either side of the pavement were 10-12 feet high! It was an inspiring sight!

As things settle down and get back to normal, the forecast already shows signs of more snow on the horizon. My kids continue to love playing in the snow. In particular, my 7 year old son has taken to using small, claw-shaped shovels to do some basic ice-climbing onto the roof of the garage. I am impressed with just how much this kid loves the snow. He seems to be a natural. Although he has been through storms in the past, since there has been a prolonged drought, this is the first big one he has lived through and he (as well as his younger siblings) have handled it with aplomb. The drought is essentially over, thankfully. Check out the satellite images of the state from 2014 and 2017 here to get an idea how the conditions have changed. Those images are not including this latest, massive storm!

OK, more hiking posts coming soon. Until then, stay blessed!

Sun shines on Mount Shasta after a major storm system moved through the area. 23Jan2017

Well, that was fun. When I last posted on the conditions here in Mount Shasta, I speculated that the storm system passing through could drop up to 3 feet of snow. Instead, it turned out to be about 5 feet. The last 6 days have been a mix of great beauty and serenity coupled with a significant amount of work clearing the snow. While it was exhausting at times, the beauty of the landscape after a healthy dose of snow and the fun my kids had made it a wonderful and memorable week. This has easily been the biggest storm to hit the Mount Shasta area since March of 2011, so in many ways it was a reintroduction to real winter weather after the drought that has plagued California the last few years. Needless to say the drought is over. There may be more dry spells ahead but for the time being, Northern California is inundated.

Knowing that this was going to be a big storm, I tried to document the storm’s progress. One of the best places to do this was in my backyard, where there are a few good landmarks by which to gauge the depth of the snow.

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I also took a few shots of my driveway:

Here are a couple of shots of my trailer by the back barn, showing the snow’s progress:

Much of the snow fell at night so waking up each morning, we were able to ascertain how much work lie ahead plowing out all the white stuff. I found during the big storms of 2010 and 2011 that if I did not maintain the paths and roads on my property each day there is significant snowfall, I could lose access to areas for the duration of the winter. Since this was the first big storm for many years, there were plenty of branches waiting to be broken under the load of the heavy snow. One morning I went out to my garage to fire up my snow blower and found my path impeded by a large chunk of maple tree. I fired up the chainsaw and cut it up, moved the pieces out of the way and then proceeded to clear out the back driveway.

I love the peace and quiet that comes with a snow storm. The snow muffles sounds and what is already quiet is made quieter. The hush that falls on the forest edifies. Of course, the kids then head out and the sounds of laughter and fun fill the air as they slide, sled, dig, throw and otherwise frolic. Kids, of course, mean kid toys and that means more work. Specifically, the trampoline must be cleared of snow. While out there shoveling off the large surface, I was joined by our intrepid cat Duncan, who, though he enjoys lying by the warm fire, is the only one of our felines who is excited to head out into the forest to hunt and follow his people around.

So now the storm passes and sunshine returns to the land. One more once with the snowblower to clear out the remnants of snow in the pathways and the driveway and I think I will have everything tidy and functional. Then I am left with the beauty until it gets warm or it rains (or both). We’ll enjoy it while it lasts. Here are a few shots from around my house and the guest cabin:

In town, there is a flurry activity as snow removal remains a constant endeavor. Tractors great and small, snow blowers, ATV’s with plows and shovels all work to get life back to normal. Of course, watching my neighbor drive his snowmobile up and down the street is not normal, but then having 18 inches of snow on the street is not typical either. Nonetheless, normal is where things are headed. It is obvious there are lots of visitors in town, both to enjoy playing in the snow and also for the skiing, which should be fantastic this next week.

I have stated that HikeMtShasta is not going to become a weather blog, but this storm was too big not to post some pictures of what it has wrought. But to keep this on the point of hiking and the mountains which is, afterall, what this is supposed to be about, it is worth noting that there is now a significant snowpack in the mountains. Even if this were the end of the precipitation for the winter (doubtful) it would still be the best snowpack since 2011. This means that trails in the high country will not open up as early as they have been the last few years. It may also mean that the road up to the Old Ski Bowl and the trailheads that are located there may not open until later in July, well beyond the customary opening date of July 1st.  I will update on that when it is relevant.

Thanks for checking in on how things have gone up here in Mount Shasta. I do have a couple of hiking posts in the works. I should be able to start putting them up later this week. Until then, enjoy the winter and stay blessed!

Mount Shasta reigns in icy solitude (11Jan2017).

California has seen a massive series of storms come rolling through over the past 10 days or so. Much of the northern part of the state has been inundated with rain and snow. Here in Mount Shasta, we have had something of a split experience with both forms of precipitation. A week ago I posted on the first part of the storm, which dumped about 2 feet of snow at my house. After that post we had a couple of cold, sunny days to enjoy the newly fallen snow before the next storm moved in. Last Saturday was forecasted for up to 8 inches of snow. At my house (which is several hundred feet higher than Mount Shasta City) we had about a foot.

This turned out to be the high watermark of the storm. This snow, on top of what had previously fallen, left more snow on the ground than at any point since March of 2011, when we had a major (and much bigger) storm hit the area. I popped into town in the afternoon and though not as much snow had fallen there was still quite a bit on the ground.

The following day (Sunday) the temperature went up and the snow turned to a heavy rain. The nicely groomed, fresh snow from the day before liquefied and turned into a nasty slush. What was a beautiful winter scene turned into a sloppy mess.

With an enormous amount rain falling and the snow melting, I knew the creeks and rivers were going to be overflowing. I checked on the Shasta River to see how much water was in the channel and was quite impressed. I can’t remember the last time I saw the river this full.

Monday brought about 4 or 5 more inches of now but the rain had melted off so much that it hardly seemed to help at this point. More rain followed on Tuesday before clear skies graced Mount Shasta on Wednesday morning. It was nice to see the sunshine again, as well as the mountains a glitter in their snowy blanket.

Though it is snowing as I write this, sun is coming for the next several days before another storm comes through Mount Shasta next week.  This winter is just getting started and it has already been a drought buster. Let’s hope for more yet more snow!

A fresh layer of snow blows off of Mount Shasta.

As predicted, a large storm moved through the Mount Shasta area over the last few days. I am not sure of the precise amount of snow that fell but it looks like a foot or so in town. My house is higher up and we always get significantly more snow. All told, we got about 2 feet. This was easily the best storm that has passed through since March of 2011. It is blue sky and sunshine right now and will be for the next couple of days. After that, the forecast is saying another heavy storm is going to come in and dump even more snow. If the forecast is accurate then we could get even double what we got the last couple of days. Yikes!

Around my house, things are pretty inundated (click to enlarge):

In town, there was a flurry of activity as tractors and plows dug everyone out. There was not as much snow in town but there was still a significant amount. It was a great sight, considering how bad the drought has been over the last few years. With last winter being moderately good and the heavy rains filling Shasta Lake this past autumn, I would suspect that this storm alone may be enough to push the lake back up to its maximum capacity. And there is still more on the way!

If you have the opportunity, get out to the Ski Park. Conditions must be perfect! Time to get myself dug out again. I will post some more pictures and report on conditions after the next storm passes through.

When passing through the Mount Shasta area, it is nearly impossible to forget the mountain’s dominating presence. Whether just glancing up toward its icy crags while driving about or pausing at a great vista and contemplating the volcano’s presence, it rarely fails to make an impression. However, it is so large that the detail can at times get lost. Yet there is a great deal of detail on Mount Shasta and much of it is named. Trying to name the points and make sense of the mountain and its immense scale can be challenging. Knowing the landmarks can help organize thoughts and categories while observing the mountain and also add enjoyment to hikes on Mount Shasta and in the surrounding mountains.

I hope that the image below is helpful for those who ever wondered what some of Mount Shasta’s landmarks are called or have heard of certain features but were unsure where they were located. This post will be followed up by similar landmark identifiers for the mountain’s three other sides.

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