The year of our Lord 2023 has come and gone. This trip around the sun was a good one at the foot of Mount Shasta. This year began with a long, long winter with deep snow but by summer we saw hurricane remnants, epic mudslides and eclipses. Thankfully, no major fires threatened the area. Between working out on Truchas Ridge, operating our animal hospital in Yreka, teaching history and Latin at my kids’ school and teaching at church and other places, I did not get out nearly as much as I have in the past. It seems like life is finally starting to catch up with me. Nonetheless, I did get out a bit, made it down to the desert twice and still reveled in Yosemite’s spring glory. In the midst of these blessings the year ends, with knowledge of a few surprises coming and hope for continued provision from above.
Enough of me yapping. On to the retrospective!
January:
2023 began as it ended: with an epic amount of rain and snow. Atmospheric rivers slammed into the area in rapid succession, leaving deep snow and ample water. The Shasta Valley, where Truchas Ridge is located, seemed like our home, as we were out there every opportunity we had. Normally a desert, it was not spared the fury of the storm. Snow and puddles reigned in places normally dry. It was magnificent.
February:
The second month of the year was much like the first. The freakishly heavy winter weather meant two things (aside from the fact that I was going to be clearing a lot of snow): there weren’t a lot of opportunities for capturing interesting images and when the storms did abate, the conditions were frequently gorgeous. A highlight for me was finding a rock arch out at Truchas Ridge.
March:
March was the culmination of winter. We had already been battered with storm after storm since November 1st but much of March saw successive 30 inch per night snowfalls. It was at this time that it started to feel oppressive.
Fortunately for my family, we had already planned a trip to Arizona in March. The trip could not have come at a more perfect time and we had a blast hiking the trails around Sedona and in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona. The saguaro are sublime.
April:
April saw the last vestiges of the snowy winter descend upon us. However, by the time Easter arrived, things were turning green, especially out in the Shasta Valley. Unfortunately, a great trauma afflicted Truchas Ridge and things have not been the same since. The matter remains unresolved but the land is already starting the healing process. More on this another time…
May:
May was the month where it felt like we finally emerged from the Long Winter. I burned nearly twice the amount of wood than I normally do, as temps remained not just cold but also snowy. However, by May the grass was well and green and the wildflowers were out.
With spring in full swing and the snowpack deep, that meant it was time to head to Yosemite to see how the waterfalls looked. It was pure magic.
June:
Halfway through the year, the weather continued to be wet. However, the storms were warm and didn’t leave a lot of snow. They did leave sublime conditions both in light and cloud. It also meant that between the warm weather and the storms, the rivers and creeks around Mount Shasta were in high vigor. June 2023 was one of the prettiest Junes I can remember.
July:
Now in the waning half of the year, summer advanced with force. Warmer temperatures took hold, some days were even hot and the snow continued to melt on Mount Shasta. The melting of the snowpack as aided by the continued arrival of warm summer storms. July was far wetter than normal, much as it was last summer.
August:
Summer on Mount Shasta is glorious, as its fountains are full and the meadows laden with flowers. However, the middle of summer saw some of the strangest conditions I have witnessed in Mount Shasta. There were several storms that produced ample rain and really beautiful lightning. However, these only presaged the arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Hilary, which delivered a deluge of warm tropical rain. This melted the remaining snowpack with alacrity and sent a massive mudslide flowing down the side of the mountain all while depositing fresh snow around the summit of Mount Shasta. The mudslide began at around 12,000 feet on the mountain and flowed within two blocks of downtown. The massive mudflow was complimented by smaller (but still large) slides all over the mountain.
September:
Summer finally came to an end with Mount Shasta bereft of snow. This was odd since it had begun the summer with a deep snowpack but the hurricane remnants had finished that off with ease. In spite of that, the meadows were still full of wildflowers. It was a great time to get on the mountain.
October:
I love autumn and October is easily my favorite month of the year. The fall color, the low angle light, the way the air just seems to glow make it transcendent. October 2023 brought another eclipse. We were only at 90% occlusion but it bathed the middle of the day in an odd half-light. We watched the eclipse from Echo Point at Truchas Ridge. From there the sun was positioned just above Mount Shasta. Unfortunately I am not adept enough to capture conditions like that. It was an awesome sight anyway.
November:
As we neared the end of the year, the fall color continued, much to my delight. The Shasta Valley was also smothered in fog on many mornings early in the month. One morning I was at Echo Point for the sunrise and between fog, cloud and vista, it made for one of the best sunrises I have seen in a while. The dance of light and water vapor is mesmerizing.
November also meant that I was able to take my family on a quick trip back down to the desert, this time to Bryce Canyon and Zion in southwestern Utah. We had hoped to catch Zion when all the cottonwoods were in the autumn splendor. Boy, did we! Bryce was also superb. That whole trip was a blast, despite some of the kids getting sick.
December:
December has been a blur. So much life seemed to eclipse getting outside. Nonetheless get out I did, if only for briefer and shorter efforts. Perhaps the next year will give me more opportunities. When I did get out, however, the mountain has been as beautiful as ever!
May the Lord bless as we careen into what may be a tumultuous and interesting 2024!
