I fled the unhealthy air of Redding after prepping the van and decided not to return, saving myself almost 3 hours of driving after this day and reveling in clean air and cool breezes. I drove up the Everitt Memorial Highway to Bunny Flat (6950’) with the intention of saying there for the night. After lunch I departed around noon and made my way to Horse Camp, which has the iconic Sierra Club hut. There were a few people about but they soon left and I had a nice chat with the caretaker, socially distanced of course. The Avalanche Gulch climbing route has the quite interesting “Oberman’s Causeway”, a lengthy series of rocks put in place to prevent erosion. I had fun skipping along this path which went quite a distance, and it appears I missed the height of lupine bloom by a week or two. Nonetheless, the flowered meadows still had a bit of charm. Eventually these charms faded and I reacquainted myself with the joys of volcano climbing; scree and rocks. My intention was to reach 10,000’ and this milestone was reached in an opportune place, the last hummock at the snowfield before the climb just continues up to the pinkish top part in view. There are numerous wind break bivy spots here; makes a lot of sense for a two day climb. I enjoyed the cool breezes and expansive views in all directions, looking down on civilization and south to the smoky layers of hills. I also had a nice view of Green Butte, which I had climbed the day before, notable for its light brown shading in contrast to the surroundings. After a snack and some water, I started the descent at 3:30 PM with plenty of time to enjoy the afternoon sun on the way back to Bunny Flat.

Once again I was able to take a hot shower, change into clean clothes and cook a nice dinner, all the while with the van opened up with cool breezes keeping me company. Not many vehicles in the lot, and those thinned considerably as darkness fell….it is legal to overnight at Bunny Flat, but it seems with the onset of school (in one form or another), the crowds of July have dissipated, leaving me to my solitude on the trails once again. I’m enjoying the cellphone service here and had a nice chat with my wife and daughter, processed a few photos and am able to post this blog before I hit the hay. 9 PM is getting to be my bedtime on this trip, slowly eroding my night owl tendencies. This is not a bad thing. Todays stats: 8.7 miles/3400’

*Interesting features on the upper mountain*

I’m on my way back north towards the Pacific Northwest, sadly leaving my daughter in LA and feeling a little lonely. I stayed in a hotel in Sacramento due to extreme heat and ash falling from the skies. On this day I had already booked an RV campground north of Redding but was looking at 100 degree days; indeed, when I arrived and checked in, it was 97. Thankfully I had plenty of time to head further north to Mt. Shasta and higher climes, where the temperatures were much cooler. I drove up to the parking lot at 7800’ where the old ski area used to be and found a very pleasant 73 degree temperature. My plan was to get in this short hike/scramble of Green Butte (9193’), make dinner in the van in the parking lot, set the van up for sleeping and depart as the sun was going down for the RV park, 1 hour and 15 minutes away. I figured by the time I returned the temperatures would be in the 70’s.

Well, all went according to plan. I had a very pleasant ascent, with no one else on the trail this time of evening….I started the hike at 4:20 PM. Not sure where to depart the trail and start the scramble, I circled around a bit high but eventually made my way to the base of the butte. I have this propensity for going straight up summit scrambles, and I hugged the wall on steep slippery scree and choss. Not the best line but it got the job done, and soon enough I was on the ridge leading to the easy summit. With the late afternoon sun I enjoyed 360 degree views and chilly winds, quite a change from the over baked environs of California of late. I was also surprised to see I had good cell reception, so I took a chance that my daughter was home from work at 5:30 and FaceTimed her. To my delight she answered and got to share the summit views with me; aint technology grand! After a bit I reluctantly said goodbye and headed back down on a gentler arc, arriving at the van shortly thereafter at about 6:20 PM. Plenty of time to prepare the murphy bed and cook dinner; pasta with spinach, Market herbs (from Pike Place Market in Seattle, great stuff), grated cheese, olive oil and pepper. The sun was going down and there were a few people in the lot taking it all in. I cleaned up and drove away, passing the long boarders in the process. I stopped lower down hoping to get some pics as they passed by, but I didn’t have the camera set quite right and most of the promising shots were blurry. One of them saw me and cut between me and the van whilst hauling ass, these guys were skilled and really enjoying themselves. I descended the winding but very nice road and arrived back at my site at 9 PM, plenty of time to take a hot shower and relax on my bed with the rear doors open, looking at the photos and posting this blog while sipping a nice glass of Pinot Grigio. Welcome to retirement.

*Some skilled long boarders doing the upper section of the ski lift road*

*Late afternoon light highlights the flower fields on the trail for the old ski area*

Mt. Shasta: Avalanche Gulch to 10,300' 8/21/2020

Shasta: Green Butte 8.20/2020