Smoky haze obscure Mount Shasta but reveals the mountain’s many layers.
Yikes. I haven’t posted anything at all in nearly two months. It’s the longest lacuna I’ve had since starting this site at the beginning of 2013. A lot happened in that time, some of it good, some of it not so good but it seems that I have come through to the other side and things are well, which is a tremendous blessing.
I’ll recap, briefly, some of the goings on as they relate to the lull in activity on Hike Mt Shasta but I really want to focus on the Lava Fire. I know I am late to that party but I have some shots and thoughts of my own that I want to document. So, to start things off…
In the latter half of June, I headed off to Camp Fleischmann with my boy scout troop. The camp is located between Chester and Lassen Volcanic National Park, on the road into Juniper Lake. We were there for a full week and it was exhausting but great. It was especially satisfying to see the troop’s new senior patrol leader realizing the difficulties that come with leadership and rising to the challenge of meeting them.
Towards the end of the week there was some thunderstorms. Little happened at camp, but little did we know the reckoning the storm would bring when we returned home. By the end of the week we were all exhausted and ready to hibernate for a few days. However, as we returned to Mount Shasta, we were greeted with a towering plume of smoke rising above the mountain’s northwest flanks.
Unforunately, that was not the worst problem I met upon my return. My parents, who had been watching my younger kids while I was away were extremely sick and worsening. I finally convinced them to let me take them to the ER and, sure enough, they had covid. That set off a long journey through the sickness that ultimately saw my entire family get it as well, but, eventually, we all recovered. My folks are hearty but it really laid them low. It took a lot of work from my wife and I to get them back on their feet and, thankfully, their recovery has been very good. I recognize how fortunate they are and I thank God for their return to health.
Meanwhile, in the midst of dealing with this challenging illness, the Lava Fire was growing, just a few miles from my house. I’ll let the pictures do a lot of the talking on this one.
Click to enlarge:
Eventually, the fire burned out (mostly) and we all recovered from the virus (not only my parents, but my whole family ended up with it). We eventually reentered society after a long isolation and were prepared for what lie ahead…Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. Yet the question remains: we recovered, but how will Mount Shasta recover?