On Sat., April 20, about 15 dedicated citizens showed up to clean up our city. The bulk of the group stayed at the abandoned campsite behind the Forest Service Office and collected more than two pickups of garbage (wet clothes, food containers, cardboard, metal, etc.) while the rest visited another site near the Crystal Geyser plant and gathered another pickup of junk. All of it was taken to the dump.
Thanks to Belinda Higuera (Clean and Safe Mt. Shasta) for organizing, and to everyone who believes keeping our city beautiful is important enough to donate two hours of their precious time on a Saturday morning in April!
Earth Day is celebrated around the planet every year on April 22 and is a great opportunity for us to “Think Globally and Act Locally”. For more information from earthday.org, click here.
You can support Earth Day every day by helping keep our incredible trails free of trash. Get a trash picker at one of our local hardware stores and bring it on your hike. Maybe there’s a little room in your bike hydration pack to pick up some trash on your ride. Some trailheads don’t have trash cans so just clean up that area before heading home.
The FREE Mount Shasta Trail Challenge is another great way to participate in Earth Day every day. Complete just 6 trails on the challenge and get an awesome stainless steel water bottle. No more wasteful plastic bottles!
Picking up trash is a good thing to do
Reduce single-use plastics
Complete the Trail Challenge and get a great reusable bottle
Here’s an easy trail along the Upper Sacramento River that connects two unique and beautiful parks. This trail is a little narrow and has just a bit of elevation but it’s short and pretty easy. You can park at either end but the Botanical Garden has more spaces and a restroom. As this trail runs right along the river please be extra careful if it has storm damage or erosion.
The Dunsmuir Botanical Garden is in a beautiful setting along the river and hosts many weddings. It is very popular for fishing with easy river access. There is a large lawn and many tables for a picnic. Sometimes you can hear a big freight train rumble by just across the river. Check out more info on the gardens here.
Tauhindauli Park celebrates the long and varied history of Dunsmuir. Much of the trail in this area is ADA accessible including river and fishing access. At least through 2024, there is a HUGE construction crane here that the kids will love. Make sure to check out the self guided tour sign boards.
If you’re feeling extra adventurous continue downstream another half mile along the river and River Avenue to the charming old railroad town of Dunsmuir. There are markets in town with ice cream for hot days and coffee shops for cold days.
This Saturday, April 20, Belinda Higuera and Clean and Safe Mt. Shasta will be hosting a cleanup behind the US Forest Service property for a transient encampment. In the past, we’ve had record numbers of people show for these events to keep our city looking great. Meet in front of the USFS Office (204 W. Alma St.) at 10 am and stay as long as you want, but it won’t go beyond 2 pm. Bring trucks, gloves, water, trash picker-uppers, rakes, and protection from blackberries (long sleeves, etc.). Photo is from a cleanup at that site in 2017.
The Elsa Rupp Nature Trail is a local favorite making its debut in the Mount Shasta Trail Challenge this year. The trail takes you quickly into a peaceful forest complete with babbling brook. An easy trail with almost no elevation gain but it is not quite ADA accessible due to some narrow bridges.Big Springs Creek is crystal clear and passes right through this park on the way to the Mount Shasta Fishery. When you’re done with the trail, walk across the road and see where all this water is headed. The hatchery is very unique and kids love it!
Dogs are welcome on leash.Please use caution on the bridges and the roots which can trip you.The trail and parking lot can be a little waterlogged coming out of the winter so be careful to stay on dry ground.“
Tom Hesseldenz, Mt. Shasta Rotary, and (to some degree) MSTA have been trying for some time to construct a “paddle-craft ramp” at Lake Siskiyou to facilitate launching your kayaks and other things. There is a funding shortfall, so Tom has created a gofundme to raise the remaining funds. If you like the idea, consider donating using this link:
Up until a few days ago, mountain biking on lower Gateway trails has revealed perfect tread, mild temps, and stunning views. This photo was taken on Moon Doggie recently.
The Mount Shasta Trail Association is pleased to announce that Carolyn Napper has joined its Board of Directors.
Carolyn grew up in Connecticut and Pennsylvania and graduated from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT with a degree in Marketing and a minor in Economics. Her cross-country running coach encouraged her to join the U.S. Peace Corps and off she went to the Philippines for 3 years where work involved helping a large farmer’s cooperative. Upon returning to California, she pursued a Master’s Degree in Agriculture specializing in Soil Science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Carolyn returned to the Philippines to instruct incoming Peace Corps volunteers. The last group that Carolyn trained as new Peace Corps Volunteers included a couple who had just retired from the Forest Service in Oregon, and they encouraged Carolyn to pursue a job with the Forest Service.
Carolyn started at the Stanislaus National Forest in 1989 as a soil scientist and spent 8 years working and living in Murphys, California doing soils, range, and hydrology. The range management involved lots of long hikes into the wilderness to evaluate range conditions and use. Carolyn met her husband Greg, a civil engineer who also worked for the USFS. Carolyn and Greg moved to Chester, CA and raised two boys before moving to the USFS San Dimas Technology and Development Center in Southern California. Carolyn was able to travel to visit other National Forests from Alaska to Florida and helped on wildfire recovery in Greece, Australia, and Israel.
In 2011, Carolyn was selected as the District Ranger on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Mount Shasta, CA and has worked closely with the MSTA since then. Upon arriving in Mount Shasta, Gateway Phase I was being implemented and was well received by the community. Carolyn retired December 2023 and is delighted to be able to continue to help serve the community on the MSTA board.
Two days ago, a burly, beastly group of 13 showed up to wrestle the big steel posts into a trench for the kiosk at Pioneer Trailhead at the south end of town. They attached aluminum templates to get the exact positioning (this required a lot of different opinions, but there was no bloodshed). The trench was filled in and we took a photo. Finally, we installed the two wooden 4×4 posts that will hold the “Pioneer Trailhead” sign near the road, using a bit of concrete.
Thanks to Dana Bennett, Bryson Adams, John Kelly, David Tucker, Steve Diaz, Emma Wilcox, Ray Uhlig, Mark Derby, Christian Birch, Jim Wrona, John Thomson, and our newest volunteer, Jeff Earl.
About two years ago, Becky Cooper, recreation officer for the USFS, submitted a grant application for MSTA to the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreation Trails grant program (RTP) for funding to cover construction of roughly 2 miles of trail in the Gateway Trail System. The program had a 10:1 request/funding ratio, so we didn’t get the grant. BUT…the grant administrators said the application got such high marks on all the elements they require that they strongly urged us to reapply.
Last year, Taylor Cole and Daniel Hewitt (USFS) resubmitted the grant after buffing it up even more. We waited and waited and waited until last week, when we were informed that we were granted $200,000 for construction on the planned Cosmic Connector Trail. You can check the location in the Gateway System here. It’s the blue trail in the upper right of the map connecting Vista Point to the Learning Zone.
And the press release for the grant is here if you want the details.
The board of MSTA is extremely excited about this development because it gets us very close to having all 46 miles of Gateway II financed (but we’re not quite all the way there). Kudos and thanks to our USFS partners!!
