introduction

Smith River Redwoods

pre-trip blog

the trip starts...

NYC pied-a-terre

Manitou Springs, CO

Philadelphia, PA

February 1 -- Happy Camp, CA to Mount Shasta City, CA

I eventually made it to Happy Camp; and camped (Happily, I might add) a night out on some property that a relative owns nearby. This is Klamath National Forest territory, next to the Marble Mountain Wilderness, with the ancient Klamath River that winds its way through the region, coming from Klamath Falls, Oregon and ending at the Pacific Ocean near Requa, CA.

One of the many creeks that feeds the Klamath River is Elk Creek. All the water is now at high-levels in the streams, creeks, and rivers; which means the Klamaths have had a fairly healthy rainy winter.

Keeping to my schedule, I backed out of the Klamath region and headed down Interstate 5 to another sacred breath/prayer/meditation/Reiki site for me: Mount Shasta.

Mount Shasta stands 14,162 feet high, the second highest peak in California (after Mt. Whitney). A longtime dormant volcano, it's natural splendor is on a grand scale and its mystical powers are legendary. Yet Mount Shasta is pretty accessible to hikers and cross-country skiers, even this time of year.

One can drive up 7,000 feet of the mountain and park a the Bunny Flats trailhead seen here. From this trailhead, it's another 7,000 feet to the summit of Mount Shasta. Not today.

I usually hike another 1,000 feet or so up the trail from the trailhead when I make the visit here. But that's usually during late summer. Slippery, snowy conditions and a tight schedule prevented me this time. Instead, I just took some pix and bushwhacked about a quarter mile away from the cross-country trails and into a secluded spot on the mountain for a little private time.

This hike in thin air caused me to breathe heavily & sweat. I then noticed how 'hot' it had actually gotten on this glorious, sunny, warm afternoon. It was near 65 degrees, easily; and with little wind. So after my pranayama/meditation/prayer/Reiki routine, I decided to tempt the mountain gods and do a little sunbathing a la Burning Man-style. So, in this photo, all I'm wearing is my Nikon Coolpix 995 digital camera (and a smile).

Here's a self-portrait. It was starting to get a little red on the...uh...forehead.

Mount Shasta dominates the area. It exudes a powerful energy hard to define but also hard to avoid, even as one is miles away from it.

Back in Mount Shasta City, I found lunch at an organic cafe that served up a wonderful Minestrone vegetable soup with just-made cornbread. Mmmmmmm. The two gals that served me seemed so wholesome & genuine, I asked if I could capture their natural beauty on my digital camera for my travel log.

They oblige with alacrity, but asked me to wait. I waited impatiently for minutes, as there was only one other patron and he'd been served already. Turns out they went into the back to purdy themselves up for the photo.

Next, a visit to the third-highest peak, Mount Lassen.

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