Mount Shasta: A peak for Muir, mystics and mountaineers

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Mount Shasta: A peak for Muir, mystics and mountaineers

Travel

 

Mount Shasta: A peak for Muir, mystics and mountaineers

By Jill K. Robinson

July 12, 2016 Updated: July 12, 2016 1:14pm

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Photo: Max Whittaker/Prime, Special To The Chronicle

A group of climbers led by Shasta Mountain Guides leaves Bunny Flat to begin their ascent.

A mighty volcano of the Cascades, Mount Shasta dominates the landscape, visible for more than 100 miles from parts of Northern California and southern Oregon. While it’s not the state’s tallest peak (at just over 14,000 feet), the sight of the mountain looming ahead, rising alone on the horizon, is intoxicating.

Mount Shasta was a great fixation for John Muir. He wrote extensively about the Shasta region, with perhaps the best distillation of his feelings about the majestic cone and its surrounding lands in his most famous quote about the mountain in “Letters: 1874-1888.”

“When I first caught sight of it over the braided folds of the Sacramento Valley, I was fifty miles away and afoot, alone and weary. Yet all my blood turned to wine, and I have not been weary since.”
Muir isn’t the only person captivated by the mountain. From hikers to mountaineers, cyclists to rafters, skiers to lovers of the great outdoors — many are struck with reverence for Mount Shasta.

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Photo: Max Whittaker/Prime, Special To The Chronicle

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Kirin Hanay, 16, reads during a rest break while climbing Mount Shasta.

It’s nothing new. For centuries, American Indians of the Shasta, Klamath, Pit, Modoc and Wintu tribes have honored the mountain as sacred, and today still carry out rituals in honor of the mountain and the spiritual power it’s believed to emanate. It’s especially important to the Wintu tribe, who trace their people’s origin to a sacred spring on the mountain.
Spiritual seekers are attracted to the peak’s purported mystical power, and Mount Shasta has been labeled a cosmic power point, a UFO landing spot and even an entry point into the fifth dimension (or parallel Earth). And then there are the Lemurians — believed to be higher-dimensional beings from an ancient continent who fled to live inside Mount Shasta after getting into a war with the residents of Atlantis.

Photo: Max Whittaker/Prime, Special To The Chronicle

Mt Shasta at sunset, June 29, 2016.

Form your own opinion on a visit to the the Crystal Room, on West Castle Street in Mount Shasta City. Wander the eight rooms of crystals, geodes, animal carvings, cut and polished stones, and singing bowls. Does one speak to you? Even if the answer is no, it’s like walking through a museum. Or, consider a tour with Shasta Vortex Adventures — which offer everything from sacred site tours and guided vision quests to exploratory hikes and backcountry ski and snowshoe tours.
Regardless of what one believes about the mountain, it’s easy to see why it has so many legends to its name. One of the best ways to get to know the region is by getting into the outdoors, whether it’s to climb the massive snow-capped stratovolcano, camp in miles of national forest or hike on the many trails.
An easy option is the McCloud River Falls Trail — an easy 4-mile round trip that features three spectacular waterfalls. The trail begins near the Lower Falls and follows the river upstream to the Middle Falls. The steepest part of the trail is to the Middle Falls overlook, where hikers have views of Mount Shasta, Castle Crags, and other local mountains to the west.
Robin Kohn, who wrote the “Mount Shasta Guide to Fun” and is also a local guide, says one of her favorite hikes is a moderate 10-mile round-trip to the Deadfall Lakes and Mount Eddy.

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“The wildflowers along the trail are spectacular,” she says. “The trail has about five lakes: Lower and Middle Deadfall Lakes appear first, and another mile up the trail is Upper Deadfall Lakes. The next section is heading up the ridge where the Sisson-Callahan trail intersects, and the trail that goes to the top of Mount Eddy. This area has the rare foxtail pine tree that only grows in certain areas. Heading up the trail to Mount Eddy offers incredible views of Lake Siskiyou and the city of Mount Shasta. Mount Eddy is the highest point (9,025 feet) in the Klamath Mountain Range.”
The most famous event John Muir recounted from the time he spent around Mount Shasta was the snowstorm he encountered on the summit. Have your own adventure (preferably without the snowstorm), when you climb Mount Shasta. Don’t worry — you don’t have to go it alone. Shasta Mountain Guides and SWS Mountain Guides offer guided excursions to the summit, most of them via the spectacular Avalanche Gulch route.
My Alpine-style (two-day) summit ascent included ample time for snow school training, which covers ice ax and crampon use, as well as ice-axe self-arrest. Other options include expedition-style (three-day) climbs, slow-and-steady (four-day) climbs, and other routes to the summit — some of which require prior climbing experience and strong physical ability.
All the hard work was worth it to watch the sun rise from the summit of Mount Shasta. Muir had it right. I did not feel weary.

Jill K. Robinson is a freelance writer. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com.

If you go
STAY
Mount Shasta Resort: 1000 Siskiyou Lake Blvd. (800) 958-3363, www.mountshastaresort.com. At the base of Mount Shasta, this is an ideal temporary mountain home, in a forest overlooking Lake Siskiyou. Rates start at $169 a night.
DINING
Wayside Grill: 2217 S. Mount Shasta Blvd. (530) 918-9234. This restaurant's menu includes delicious brick-oven pizzas, salads and soups, tacos, barbecue and a beloved lobster bisque.
WHAT TO DO
Shasta Vortex Adventures: 400 Chestnut St. (530) 926-4326; www.shastavortex.com. Guided tours from sacred sites and vision quests to exploratory hikes and drives.
The Crystal Room: 109 W. Castle St. (530) 918-9108; www.crystalsmtshasta.com. Eight rooms of crystals and stones make this shop look like a museum.
Shasta Mountain Guides: (530) 926-3117, www.shastaguides.com. From Avalanche Gulch and the West Face to Casaval Ridge and North Side glacier climbs and seminars, this outfitter does it all.
SWS Mountain Guides: 210 E. Lake St. (888) 797-6867; www.swsmtns.com. Another outfitter specializing in Mount Shasta, offering summit climbs, glacier training and ski descents.
MORE INFORMATION
Mount Shasta Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center: (530) 926-4865, www.visitmtshasta.com.