An afternoon view of Mount Shasta from a bluff near Survey Creek.
The last month has been an odd one for me. Normally I am out all over the area, hunting waterfalls, climbing peaks and generally exploring. This year most of my attention has been focused on one spot and a lot of time has been spent there, exploring, photographing, investigating and imagining. I will be writing more about this area in significant detail soon, I hope. In the meantime, I finally got my family up to Survey Creek over the weekend and we all enjoyed one of our favorite spring hikes. There’s no trails here but there are fantastic cascades, awesome rocks, a great view of Mount Shasta and a few other hidden and surprising delights hidden away in the mountains.
The highlight is a long series of cascades pouring down off the mountains. They flow through chutes and over small cliffs, making it one of the most precipitous and active waterways in the area. Adding to the enjoyment is the beautiful rock that lines the stream. While loaded with interesting features, its texture is its real delight. It is the tackiest rock I have ever experienced, even better than Sierra granite or Moab sandstone. This makes scrambling the rocks along the cascades a joy and one my entire family is always excited to undertake.
I think it would surprise everyone just how much snow is left up in the mountains. I know Mount Shasta looks bare and I wish it were better but the Klamaths did much better last winter and there is still quite a bit of snow to melt off up in the high country. This was certainly the case along Survey Creek. I was surprised just how much water there was, given how late in the spring we are. It was encouraging.
These are tough camping conditions!
On the way home, we stopped to check on the conditions at one of the most idyllic campsites in the Mount Shasta area. Not surprisingly, it was unoccupied and we had the entire valley to ourselves. It was another great afternoon in Mount Shasta.
