Truchas Ridge

February Was A Spectacular Month At Truchas Ridge

Posted by bubbasuess on June 6, 2023
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. 2 Comments

A tremendous sunset view from Echo Point.

I was going through images from this past winter and I was struck by how great the conditions were out at Truchas Ridge during February. Most of the month saw a lull in the stormy winter we had had, leaving skies filled with turbulent clouds and vivid colors rather than the massive storms that had sailed through the region. Add to that layers of snow both on the mountains and the northern aspects of the Shasta Valley’s entwined folds as well as pools of water adding reflected colors and it was a magical season out at the Ridge.

Conditions at the Ridge are radically different now. A significant trauma hit the area in April but the winter has paid its dividends, as the grass is now waist high. I have never seen it like that and it is shocking it can get that tall in the desert. The steady stream of thunderstorms we have had hasn’t helping either. I might need to hire some goats to shorten the grass.

It Begins: An Easter Lenticular Heralds The Coming Of Spring

Posted by bubbasuess on April 10, 2023
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Shasta Valley, Truchas Ridge. 5 Comments

The Long Winter is finally coming to an end! After over 5 months of nearly constant rain and snow we may have finally turned the corner and entered into the spring season. It’s been over a week since the last major storm passed through the Mount Shasta. Though we have gotten a bit of rain and some small dustings of snow, the precipitation finally abated and, as befitting Easter, the sun came out, the temperatures climbed until they were almost warm and the snow began to melt. It was a glorious burst of new life and reinvigorated those who were exhausted from the seemingly interminable Long Winter.

Making the coming of spring even greater than it already would have been, there was a spectacular three day lenticular gracing Mount Shasta over the Easter weekend. Indeed, this was perhaps the finest lenticular event of the entire winter season. The lenticular ended up having a surprising amount of durability and it changed pretty dramatically over the three days it clung to the mountain. What a glorious way to leave the winter behind!

The formation began as a simple, subtle stack over the summit of the mountain. It wasn’t a grand sight but it was reassuring, since it had been a while since Mount Shasta had even been visible, let alone have anything noteworthy in the sky around it. The cloud cover had been fairly constant for a long time this winter.

Easter was the next morning and after church it was time for an Easter egg hunt. However, there was still a couple feet of snow on the ground around my house. It wasn’t exactly egg hunting conditions.

Not to be deterred, my wife and I loaded the kids up and headed out to Truchas Ridge. It was blissfully warm, the sky was blue and the grass was green. Spring had been hard at work in the Shasta Valley and the conditions were perfect. With the eggs set up, the kids had a fantastic hunt. Meanwhile, the lenticular provided a spectacular backdrop.

While on the way out to the ridge, we stopped to capture a shot of the lenticular that had formed to the northeast of Mount Shasta. The original cloud was still present on the summit, but it had lost some of its definition. There were other, lenticular-like formations elsewhere in the sky as well but the stack near the mountain was by far the most interesting.

As always with lenticulars, the formation is not static and the stack kept growing, replicating, shrinking, separating and constantly changing from one form to another. It is the kind of show you can lose a hour in easily.

It was obvious that big things were afoot, since the sky was active throughout the area. It was a pretty amazing spectacle and one that only made the Easter egg hunt more fun (at least for my wife and I).

Later that day, as sunset approached, I headed back to Truchas Ridge and made my way up to Echo Point. The sky had gotten overcast, but I was hopeful that the sun might break through and cast some great light. It was not meant to be, but the view of Mount Shasta and the lenticulars lining the horizon over Echo Park was inspiring. It was an excellent end to an excellent Easter.

I wasn’t sure if the lenticular would survive the overcast sky during the night but rain was actually forecasted for Monday night so I though there was a reasonable chance that the lenticular would stick around until then. I got up early in the morning and my suspicions were confirmed. Not only had the cap over Mount Shasta and the stack to the northeast persisted through the night, but there were additional lenticular forming further east. Needless to say, it was a magnificent sunrise.

On my way home after sunrise, I had to stop and capture an image of the stack. Though the size had shrunk dramatically, it was now augmented by a fine example of cloud iridescence. The rainbow fringe of the cloud contrasted against the dark formation and the blue sky. I thought the sunrise had been awesome, but this was a fine conclusion to the morning.

As I was in and out of town today, I had a continuous string of opportunities to observe the lenticular and it changed. The stack had gone by mid-morning but the cap over the summit continued to fluctuate throughout the day.

Naturally, I had to head out in the evening again. My wife, ever gracious and patient with me, let me go and I headed north. The sky was full of interesting formations again. The cap had grown and covered a significant amount of Mount Shasta. Another collection of lenticulars had formed northeast of the mountain again, this time a bit further away the the previous stack. Other clouds in a variety of shapes crowded the sky, casting ominous shadows on the valley’s hills.

Though Mount Shasta was largely covered, the lenticular proved to be entertaining and seemed to perpetually spin, separating out into new layers before they collapsed in on each other before another new series of layers coalesced again. It is a hypnotic performance.

In the end the stack came together in magnificent form, even if it was further away from Mount Shasta than I would have liked. The clouds to the west kept the sunlight from generating much alpenglow but the scale of the clouds was spectacle enough. In fact, it was more than enough. It was terrific.

It really feels like we have turned a corner here in Mount Shasta. The sun has been constant, the temperatures noticeably warmer and the snow is melting. Even though it is raining as I write this (Monday night) it is not cold. The winter may have been long but the land has been given the moisture it needed and for that I am quite grateful. I am also grateful that spring is here. It should up in dramatic fashion.

It Snowed A Little Bit

Posted by bubbasuess on February 25, 2023
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. Leave a comment

While careening toward the end of February it was easy to start jumping ahead to spring. The snow, which had piled up during January had been only minimally replenished and was melting off at a good clip. On the other side of March the spring could begin in earnest and since the snow had started falling on November 1st, it has really felt like a long winter. It should not come as a surprise then that winter wanted to let us know that it still holds sway for another month. To do this, it summoned a storm of swift and deep proportions.

Most forecasts before the storm called for a foot or so of snow. That is certainly nothing to scoff at and necessitated all the normal pre-storm preparations. Some forecasts doubled the amount of snow but those were definitely in the minority. In the end, both were wrong and were underestimating the storm’s yield.

I woke up in the morning and, looking out my front door, saw a wall of snow much higher than I had anticipated. The yard stick showed 31 inches. Yikes. That was a heap of snow and it was still coming down. Indeed, it continued to snow for a few more hours and ultimately add another three inches to what had already come down during the night. The road in front of our house was no where near plowed and I5 was no doubt a mess but my wife felt like she needed to get to the clinic even though we could have just closed for the day. That meant I had to get and start clearing snow. I admire her dedication. I got her out, sent her off and spent much of the day moving snow around while managing kids diffing snow caves and such.

Fresh snow and Mount Shasta on a winter’s morning.

The day after the storm ended I was out early and enjoyed the fresh snow smothering everything. It was a glorious bluebird day, with fresh snow, blue sky and a warm sun. On my way home pulled out my camera to document the white conditions. I was surprised to see that the strange accumulation of snow on Mount Shasta’s west face had persisted despite the copious snow that had just fallen. Still, in most areas on the mountain it was clear that a lot of snow had fallen.

I knew that a lot of snow (for that arid area) had fallen out in the Shasta Valley and I wanted to get out there to catch it while it was white. My family and I headed out in the afternoon and found the southernmost end of the valley quite white but by the time we got to Truchas Ridge the snow was found only on the northern exposures and in the shadows. While not quite what I was hoping for, it was still really beautiful. We climbed to the summit of Cerro Pedernal and from there we could see that the western fringe of the valley was still pretty snowy.

The view from the summit of Cerro Pedernal is one of the best. Mount Shasta is the obvious center of attention but the cluster of peaks and valleys adds a great deal of interest to the views. This time, with the snow still lingering in the shadowy areas it was a slightly different texture than the typical vista.

While on the summit, I decided to climb around to the Pedernal Ventana, a small arch on the peak’s southwest side. The low sun makes the arch stand out and this time the sun was near sunset. The view of Mount Shasta and the southern Shasta Valley from the arch is great. Since the arch is on Pedernal’s southern aspect the snow had melted off quite a while before I got there but it was worth checking out nonetheless.

My family and I enjoyed the view and as the alpenglow began to fade over the white valley, we began our return. We descended to the sound of howling coyotes (not my daughter howling) and within sight of great horned owls flying nearby. It was a great end to a great day yet as we arrived home the clouds had already come back in and it is supposed to continue snowing tonight and for the next few days. I wonder how much will fall this time…

60 Hours Before The Storm

Posted by bubbasuess on February 21, 2023
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Lenticular Clouds, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. Leave a comment

I noted earlier that this past fall and winter had not been a very good season for lenticulars. That assessment has certainly changed over the last couple weeks. I previously wrote about a series of lenticular episodes that all occurred within a week’s time. Now, with a large snow storm looming, there has been another series of clouds, which have, at times, been quite impressive. However, if a complaint were to be lodged against this particular series of formations, it is that getting the clouds to take shape when the light is best has been elusive. Nonetheless, this has produced some truly spectacular sunsets, for which I have been grateful to witness!

The first cloud manifested on Sunday. Not only was there a nice cap on Mount Shasta but there was a nicely formed stack hovering to the southwest. Frustratingly, by the time I headed out to capture some images, the stack had diminished to a single disk. Still, the cap remained nicely formed and still felt worth the effort to get out and prepare for sunset. I decided to head up to Echo Point, which has a particularly spectacular vista and settled in to watch the light shift and see what the cloud had in store.

Unfortunately, the cloud had nothing in store at all. It continued to dissipate to near insignificance. There was just a vestigial crown clinging to the summit and little else to indicate there had been an excellent lenticular. Even the lone disk, which hovered to the southwest had gone. However, what was lacking in lenticulars was more than made up for in the warm glow of a truly marvelous sunset. The alpenglow was magnificent and the entire landscape seemed to radiate a warm sensation. Echo Point did not disappoint!

The next morning I headed north again, feeling the clouds weren’t done. I was correct, as the southwestern stack was back in force, with a firmly coalesced shape and a commanding presence near Mount Shasta. Where the previous night had been a stunning light show, this time the light was barely evident and the land was drab since clouds to the east blocked most of the sunlight. It was still a good morning, graced with a notable cloud.

Around midday, the stack was still persisting and even the cap on Mount Shasta was threatening to reform. Unfortunately it never really gathered enough strength to advance past the wispy tendrils of a delicate formation. Still, I anticipated the sunset would be grand and determined to head back out to Truchas Ridge.

Climbing up to Panorama Point, the light was great and the view was terrific as always. However, the lenticular stack had flattened out and lost much of its definition. Still, it caught the afternoon light well and glowed as the sun sank. I was hopeful things might change before all the light was gone.

My hope was not in vain. At the last minute, before all the light had faded, the cloud began to form a new stack of disks over the old one. These had nice layers that still caught the last bit of light that was being offered before dark set in. Not only this, but a concave cavity had opened up on the bottom of the cloud, returning something of the lenticular’s previous shape to the formation. Though the light had faded on the hills of the Shasta Valley, it was still a nice finish.

Yet, all was not done. With the storm set to arrive on Tuesday around noon, there was one last bit of a lenticular over the mountain, heralding the arrival of the storm. By noon, Mount Shasta was lost to the storm clouds and rain and snow had begun to fall. We are in for another round of cold and snow, which is welcome, after the nice break we have had after January’s deluge. Still, the winter had been long, considering snow fell November 1st and has been consistent since. Spring fever is setting in…

Late January Lenticular Sunset

Posted by bubbasuess on January 28, 2023
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Lenticular Clouds, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. 8 Comments

Sunset light illuminates a lenticular cap on Mount Shasta.

Last weekend the changing weather conditions around Mount Shasta produced one of the better and longer-lasting lenticular formations that has manifested this season. The sustained winter weather has meant that the frequency and scale of lenticulars around the mountain has not been great this year. The few times there have been decent formations, they have been a bit more fleeting than in the past, often dissipating before the sunset light could really highlight them.

The cloud was not present at dawn but by midmorning it was forming over the mountain. Unfortunately, between a belt of clouds just around treeline and the cloud’s propensity to belch out to the west a large plume of cloud the lenticular had a low visibility from the west. I headed north to the Edgewood pools and got a nice view of the cloud, though the wind meant that a clear reflection was not to be had. It was, nonetheless, a good perspective on the formation.

The cloud was particularly stormy on the west side, where the large plumes continued to erupt to the east. It seemed that the turbulence that helped form the spectacular cloud was also kicking up a lot of snow. Hidden Valley and West Face Gully looked like pretty inhospitable places at this time.

It was hard to pull myself away from the ever-changing spectacle but I resolved that if the cloud persisted to the evening, I would head out to Truchas Ridge for the sunset.

Conditions at the ridge were awesome, though the ground was a bit muddy in places. The north-facing aspect of all the hills were still covered in snow and the nearby lake was quite full. It all provided a gorgeous sight, especially when playing foreground to the awesome peaks that lie to the east, west and south.

In the end, the lenticular collapsed a bit, making it less interesting than it had been and partially obscuring Mount Shasta in the process. In spite of this, the entire scene, come late afternoon and sunset, was fantastic and made for one of the prettier sunsets I had seen in a while.

Another Good Storm Hits Mount Shasta

Posted by bubbasuess on December 3, 2022
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Lenticular Clouds, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. 1 Comment

A snowy Mount Shasta catches the last bit of sun before day’s end.

After the surprise storms at the beginning of November, it felt like the winter season might be getting off to an auspicious start. Yet, with the prolonged drought continuing to grip the west pulls back on the reins and causes one to stop short of being too hopeful. While that does keep me from having false expectations, it does not actually effect the weather, which, it turns out, has decided to continue its wintery ways.

As November came to a close the forecast was for a significant storm to pass through the area. On storm’s eve, we finally got an impressive lenticular display, something that has eluded us the entire autumn. The odd clouds were the heralds of the coming storm.

The snow was forecasted to arrive the next day so I went out early in the morning, hoping the lenticular would still be there. To my great delight, the lenticular was still there. The south side of the mountain seemed like the best option for a good view of the formation, which just happens to be the best side for a sunrise. This meant a trip over to McCloud.

Needless to say, it was a spectacular sight. Beyond sunrise, the clouds began to coalesce around Mount Shasta and spread out over the rest of the area and soon the snow began to fall. The forecast called for a strong contribution to the snowpack. Initial predictions were for nearly a foot the first night and a few more inches over the next couple days.

The storm did not deliver quite as much as predicted but it was still a solid bit of snow. At my house, we got between 10 and 11 inches. Fortunately, a lot of the leaves were off the trees by this point, which meant that I wasn’t going to get as many broken branches. The first storm came so early the trees were still full of leaves. This caught more snow and added more weight and a lot of branches snapped. Fortunately this was not so this time around.

In town, things were looking pretty wintery, though it did not get nearly as much snow as it did at my house. This was probably a good thing, since the trees are still full of leaves there and the first storm broke a shocking number of branches and even pulled a few venerable giants down.

By the time the storm had cleared, it was December. We were left with the unusual sight of fall color still in the trees and snow on the ground. Though their timing is so close to each other every year, the visual pairing of white with yellow trees still seems a bit misplaced to me. Perhaps in other parts of the country it is not so strange but out here, it does not happen too often, if my memory is accurate.

In the end, this storm is success building on success. Two storms, each leaving around a foot and it is not even more than a few days into December is fantastic. Even more encouraging is the onset of another storm this morning and more snow coming later in the week. Now if we can continue this through January, February and March, it will be a grand winter!

Southern Sunrise and Cerro Sunset (With GIFs)

Posted by bubbasuess on November 21, 2022
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. Leave a comment

I wasn’t really planning on another post like this, but the way the day rolled out I ended up out again at both morning and sunset. This is most certainly not something to complain about and the rising and setting of the sun around Mount Shasta is always a magnificent sight to behold.

This morning I was over in McCloud investigating some access to things and just happened to be there at sunrise. Funny how that worked out… The sky had some thin, gauzy clouds, the kind that catch the light just enough to make the sky a bit of a different color than normal. The snow made Mount Shasta glow. The southern perspective is one of my two favorites because of the numerous rock spires and lines of strata that add a lot of drama to the spectacle. Awesome Mud Creek Canyon is also visible and being able to see it from down below at the foot of the mountain always gets me excited to head up and explore it again.

At sunrise, the light always goes from pink to orange and begins at the summit of Mount Shasta and then works its way down the mountain as the sun goes up into the sky. The southern side is blessed with being the best angle from which to watch the sunrise and all the excellent features are the perfect canvas for the descending light to dance on.

In the afternoon, I had a few hours free (not of things to get done but of kids!) so I headed back out to Truchas Ridge. I was not certain which vista I was going to head to but by the time I got there I had decided it was a good time to climb up to the summit of Cerro Pedernal. The view from the summit is one of my absolute most favorites. There is a wealth of landmarks to be observed from that vantage and the way the valley recedes in hilly waves to the foot of Mount Shasta, which dominates the view (as it does every view) makes it a an unusual and utterly spectacular panorama.

Sunrise always plays out opposite of sunrise. The light goes from orange to pink and begins at the base of the mountain and fades away from bottom to top. The summit is always the last point to have light on it. After the alpenglow has faded off every other high peak in the area, Mount Shasta still glows with the sun’s setting light. Only after several lonely minutes alight does the warmth finally faded away allowing the cold darkness to embrace the mountain’s highest reaches.

In the end, it was another beautiful autumn day, though they really feel like winter days at this point. Thanksgiving lies just days ahead and on the other side of that the forecast is calling for another significant dose of snow. That’s really going to be the beginning of winter, and all the fun that that brings!

A Perfect Fall Day In Mount Shasta

Posted by bubbasuess on November 17, 2022
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. 3 Comments

Thursday was a perfect one here in Mount Shasta, at least in terms of how things looked. To be truly perfect, it needed to be about 20 degrees warmer and had a lenticular on the mountain. Aside from that though, it really was perfect. A beautiful sunrise, warm autumn light, fall color (though it is starting to fade on some trees) and a spectacular sunset. I could get used to this kind of day (except, I wouldn’t want to, since it is better being extraordinary rather than ordinary)!

The day started with a sunrise viewed from up in the Shasta Valley. Coyotes trotted across the fields while I was waiting for the sun to com up. The light was awesome, though the picture didn’t really turn out as well as I had hoped. After the light faded a bit, the mountain cast cool shadows across the sky, one of my favorite Mount Shasta phenomena.

The morning had great light when the sun was not filtered through clouds. The early snow storm we got has brought an odd mix of white contrasting against the fall leaves that are both covering the snow and still on the trees. I have not seen this mix at my house before.

In town, there are a lot of trees with good color, though many have already peaked. The bright leaves always make a striking foreground to the white mountain and blue sky. Today was an exemplar of such a sight. I couldn’t help stopping and capturing a few images of Mount Shasta with the fall color and I am glad I didn’t try to resist.

In the afternoon, I took some friends out to Truchas Ridge. The white mountain was glorious and the clouds offered some interesting variation in the sky. Though cold, it was invigorating. While talking and waiting for the sun to set, the kids ran around hooting and howling and scrambling on the rocks, seemingly oblivious to the cold.

When sunset finally came, it was magnificent. It was a fitting end to a gorgeous day!

I have 3 more substantive posts brewing and I was really hoping to get one done before posting more “current conditions” type posts but today was too beautiful to pass up.

Mount Shasta Sunrise And Sunset On The Autumnal Equinox

Posted by bubbasuess on September 23, 2022
Posted in: Cascade Range, Desert, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. 1 Comment

Late evening light cradles newly snow covered Mount Shasta.

With the end-of-summer storms having now passed, the skies cleared just in time to welcome autumn officially. The autumnal equinox is the first day of fall and in 2022, it happened to be the first day of clear skies after a rain storm that last for 4 or 5 days. With Mount Shasta powdery white again, it seemed like a glorious way to usher in the most beautiful season of the year (in my opinion, at least).

With the conditions excellent, I decided to head out early in the morning to catch the autumn’s first sunrise. There are three good perspectives for sunrise on Mount Shasta. The first is from the northeast, over near Sheep Rock and Herd Peak. This area catches the morning light nicely on the Hotlum Glacier, which happens to be the largest glacier in California. This side is one of my favorites. The next option is from the summit of Ash Creek Butte. From here, one gets a most unique perspective on the mountain, since Shastina is not visible and Mount Shasta appears as one, massive, solitary cone. However, I have only caught this view of sunrise once and one does not just wake up and head there on a whim. The last perspective is from the south and southeast, which is on the McCloud side of the mountain. This is a particularly impressive view, since the Mud Creek basin on the mountain has towering crags and spectacular texture. When snow is on the mountain it highlights the crags in magnificent fashion.

I opted to head toward the southern side of Mount Shasta, where the crags would be highlighted by the fresh snow. I was not disappointed, as the conditions were terrific. The glow of the rising sun set the snow and the rock aflame. Winds whipped up snow devils on the side of the mountain and just the smallest of clouds clung to the summit. It was a grand way to greet the coming of autumn!

In the evening, my wife and I took friends of ours out to the high desert at Truchas Ridge for dinner and sunset. After eating, we hiked out to Pecos Point for the sunset, getting there just in time for the color to soak into Mount Shasta. The sky was cloudless now, a change from all the storms that had just come through. With no clouds, the mountain took center stage and the sunset was gorgeous. The air was warm and still and our kids scrambled on the cliffs of Pecos Point, happily howling, hoping for a coyote to return the call. It was a great start to autumn.

UPDATE:

It’s been almost a week since the bulk of the snow fell on Mount Shasta. Much has melted off but a lot still lingers on the upper elevations, mostly above 10,000 feet. It is a great time to head up to the Old Ski Bowl, since the snow offers a great, late-season contrast against the dryness of the ski bowl. There, the lupine has faded and it has settled into the end-of-summer conditions that presage the coming rains of fall. Though there is no more precipitation in the forecast, cooler temperatures will stretch what snow there is a little longer. Hopefully October will bring a storm soon!

Full Moon Fire

Posted by bubbasuess on September 12, 2022
Posted in: Cascade Range, Hiking, Mount Shasta, Truchas Ridge. Tagged: . 4 Comments

Of course, as soon as I post an encouraging follow up to my original article on the Mill and Mountain Fires, the latter jumps its containment lines and flares up again in a big way. After its ignition, the Mountain Fire had been attacked effectively by firefighters and within a few days it had grown to what seemed it maximum extent. The majority of the fire had been contained, its heat signatures had gone cold and little smoke was produced in the places where it still smoldered. All in all, it seemed like the threat had passed.

That all changed on Saturday. The area was experiencing a fair amount of wind, evidence of the changing weather systems. The wind kicked up the fire, propelled it over the containment line and into fresh, unburned terrain. This terrain was closer to the town of Gazelle and the surrounding farms than the fire had been at any point previous.

As it happened, I had planned on being out that way that evening anyway. It was a full moon and the best position to be in to capture the moon rising over Mount Shasta that sunset was at the south end of the Shasta Valley. I had planned on taking up a position on Stewart Springs Road. However, the sight of the large pyrocumulus rising up from the fire caused me to change plans and I headed up Old 99 a bit to see what was going on with the fire. I found a place where I was safely off that road, which had a lot of traffic on, with firefighters from all over the area racing to attack the flames.

The fire was immediately evident and the column of smoke rose dramatically over the hills. The area hummed with activity, as at least 7 helicopters made sortie after sortie dumping their buckets on the fire, refilling their buckets in a nearby pond and heading back to the fire. From my position on Old 99, I was close enough to get rained on by the overflow from the full buckets if the helicopters swung a little wide to the east from the ponds. Meanwhile, a VLAT and spotter plan arrived and proceeded to make 8 passes, dropping retardant in areas to establish a perimeter for the fire.

The flurry of activity in the area was complimented by the fire crews heading up Gazelle Callahan Road and into Mack Gulch to attack on the ground. All of the firefighting efforts were as exciting as watching the fire itself. I tip my hat to the pilots and the ground crews.

I took a lot of images from the fire and it was hard to narrow it down to the collection I did, so please forgive the overabundance of images from this event! I will provide short commentary for them.

A lot of these pictures should be enlarged, to see some of the detail of what was going on.

When I arrived on the scene, the sun was setting behind the column of smoke, giving it an eerie feeling.

A helicopter takes off as the sun peeks through the Mountain Fire’s smoke.

A geyser of flame bursts over the hill’s horizon as the sun sinks into the smoke. Enlarge this one and see the helicopter about to drop water on the flame.

Another view of the column of smoke and the setting sun.

The second of 8 retardant drops from the 737 VLAT.

The third run from the VLAT. I watched its first run but did not have the camera trained on it so missed capturing it. This particular plane is on lone from New South Wales, Australia.

The smoke and alpenglow sky is a dramatic backdrop for a helicopter heading back to refill its bucket.

Flying past the fires.

The fourth run of the VLAT. The thin white smoke above the pink retardant is the contrail left by the spotter plane. The spotter marks the location for the retardant and the VLAT pilot follows after and makes the drop.

The sun is barely visible through the smoke and clouds just before it sets behind the mountains. This was a dramatic, and really memorable sight.

The VLAT made its fifth run as the sun sank below the horizon. Note the small spotter plane just above the sun. That’s an NAR OV-10 Bronco. As noted in the picture, these planes have a twin boom configuration.

Two helicopters head into the maelstrom. Bonnet Rock is in the lower left.

The VLAT changed the location of the drop after its fifth run. Its sixth run was on the south side of the fire and I missed it, not expecting the change. I was ready for the seventh though and captured this shot as the plane dropped the load amidst a number of helicopters working the flames with water. Note the spotter plane at the top, on the edge of the smoke plume. All of these guys are really impressive pilots!

Watching this particular scene felt like I had been transported into the film “Apocalypse Now”. It was hard not to hear “Ride of the Valkyries” in my mind while watching these 6 helicopters head toward the fire at the same time. A very different war…

A closer look at one of the burning areas. A close examination on the right side of the fire while reveal a fire cyclone. Those are really intense conditions!

By the time dark began to descend, it was obvious the fire had grown considerably. From a few small flames when I arrived to a massive wall of fire, it had gotten fearsome as it crept eastward toward Gazelle.

It the dark, the fury of the fire was evident and terrible.

In the midst of the firestorm, I happened to look behind me and suddenly realized there was supposed to be a full moon. I could see it just beginning to breach the horizon near Mount Shasta. It was not where I had planned on being but here it was and I could still get Mount Shasta in the same frame, if only as a silhouette. The smoke caused the moon to glow red. It was a shocking and surreal sight. After this, I decided to head home but planned on coming back out in the morning to check the fire’s status.

I returned my spot on Old 99 early in the morning. The fire still burned, putting off a haunting red glow in the dark of night. As fate would have it, however, the full moon I had watched rise a few hours earlier was now in a position to set near the fire. Strange sights indeed.

The fire itself had moved into new territory but its overall intensity was not what it had been the previous night. Hopefully its ferocity would continue to abate.

As it grew lighter, I decided to head over to Truchas Ridge to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately the area was fairly smoky so, while the sky was colorful, Mount Shasta was not very visible.

Looking back west toward the fire, no flames were visible and the smoke hung low to the ground, mostly collecting the gulches near the burning area. This was good, since it meant the wind was not driving the fire like it had the day before.

The efforts to contain the fire have continued, with ground crews and air attack persisting through Sunday and into Monday. In the end, it is unfortunate that the fire broke containment but the efforts to corral the beast were swift, unrelenting, and hopefully successful. I, however, will refrain from any further prognostication about where the fire is out or not, since I have given the “all clear” twice and brought disaster with each call.