Ney Springs

I was driving over Box Canyon Dam (Siskiyou County) and remembering that my best friend's ashes had been put there by his family nearby on the Sacramento river side on a cliff. I thought that by now the ashes likely from rain and snow likely were either in the Sacramento river or on their way to the Pacific ocean by now as he passed away in summer 2006. I met him in church around 1954 when I was 6 and I even dated his sister too for a time when she was in college. So, as I was driving up the road to Castle Lake nearby I realized I could parallel the Sacramento River south and inflate my 500 pound capacity Kayak in the shade some where at a lower altitude since it is going to be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit here where I am today. So, having a foot or a hand in ice cold mountain lake or river water is a good thing to do today in the afternoon to stay cool and happy.

On my way searching for a likely spot to be quiet while it is already 85 degrees in the shade and inflate my kayak with a foot pump I found a road down to Ney Springs which can be an angler's spring summer and fall paradise because in rain or mud or snow you cannot get there even with a 4 wheel drive because of the steepness of the road going down along the river from a small mountain or cliff above the river. When I reached Ney Springs I found I could easily walk the rest of the way and walk out into the Sacramento river itself with my rubber croc sandals on that are good for this kind of thing in rivers, lakes and oceans or water anywhere. But, don't go in deep mud or it will suck them off your feet. I've done this too so it isn't a good idea.

So, I took some pictures of the river while I talked to my wife who is back on the coast. Even there it is going to be 70 degrees today which is warm for this time of year on the coast as it lately has been mostly from about 50's at night to no more than 65 during the day since about May on average.

Yesterday's hike has put me in a remote mountain frame of mind which is nice because I lived up here off and on from 1976 until 1992. So, it is still in some ways more my home than anywhere else on earth.

But, I also like living near the ocean. I think  ideally I would like to be spending a certain amount of time at the ocean on the California coast a certain amount of time in the Hawaiian Islands and a certain amount of time here in Mt. Shasta every year. So I do whenever that is workable, Practical and fun.