Castle Lake July 2013

Castle Lake is at 6000 feet in elevation. If you head towards Lake Siskiyou from Mt. Shasta just after you cross over the dam the next left up the hill if you stay on the paved road and don't get off it will take you to Castle Lake. From the middle of Castle Lake and the Back side of the lake (Where Castle gets it's name from the Rocks that reminded someone of a Castle with cliffs to dive off into the water as long as you are sure there is enough water to dive into without hitting submerged rocks. Castle lake is a very deep lake in some parts and was created by Glaciers originally so it is a natural snow fed alpine lake. It likely is my favorite lake I have ever been to that is accessible by car or pickup truck.

When I first went to Castle lake I was 5 years old with my father and a few of his friends. Then getting to Castle Lake you really needed a pickup truck or almost a 4 wheel drive. However, we went there in a brand new 1953 Chevrolet but because of the dirt roads with Mt. Shasta volcanic roads and large rocks we tore out the whole muffler system of the new Chevy Car. So, it was really loud going back down to the city of Mt. Shasta after that. So, that day we were the only ones there, with 4 men and a 5 year old boy learning how to hike around Castle Lake and jump off the rocks into the water there. I was amazed that a lake this beautiful existed anywhere outside of heaven when I was 5. It is probably only 1/2 mile across but like a snow fed jewel that I now have crossed many winters now with skis or snowshoes, I have kayaked across in my own kayak or a friends, I have floated across with friends on inner tubes and other floatation devices and I have swum across multiple times as well and so have many of my kids and their boyfriends or girlfriends or wives. So, Castle Lake has become a multi-generational friend to my family now.

I didn't take my camera kayaking across the lake yesterday so I will share some photos I took other years of Castle Lake. Because of Global Warming the water is the warmest this year since I first went there in 1953. Usually in the past you wouldn't be happy swimming there because it is snow fed until around late July and August. However, this year people were happy to swim there in June. So, you can see how much warmer it is water wise than in 1953.

The 

top photo is what Castle Lake looks like just before or during it trying to snow when skiing across or snow shoeing across or even ice fishing there is possible. The next photo is what the same basic photo looks like in the summer time. The third photo is looking from a kayak East from a kayak in the middle of the lake.