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To give people a brief window to drop by the ski swap tomorrow morning, we’re changing the start time for the work day to 10 am. Meet on Old McCloud Rd. about 2 ½ miles east of Mt. Shasta Blvd. (a short distance above the RR tracks).

Regarding weather: rain predicted tonight and showers tomorrow. When I cancelled last Saturday’s work day due to rain, Alyssa called me a wimp and really insulted my masculinity. So we’ll be working tomorrow if it rains, unless Alyssa cancels. I just can’t take another hit to my fragile ego.

See you then.

Let’s try again! If it’s not raining much, we’ll go work on the newest segments of Gateway. As before:

We’ll be meeting on Old McCloud Rd. at 9 am. From south Mt. Shasta Blvd., go east on Old McCloud about 2.5 miles, cross the RR tracks, and a short distance further you’ll see my brown pickup with the MSTA tool trailer. We’ll be lopping roots, raking tread, and doing other finish work on the recently cut-in trails. It doesn’t require much hiking. We plan to work from 9 to 12, but you can leave anytime you wish.

See you there!

Once again, Tom Ravizza has occupied his Covid downtime building detailed, themed birdhouses. And once again, Kendra Bainbridge has graciously offered to display them and sell them at her store, Raven Tree, with the profits going to the Mount Shasta Trail Association and the Siskiyou Land Trust. These birdhouses make great holiday gifts and Raven Tree has lots of other bird-related items to grab. I get my birdseed there (much of which goes to our very fat squirrels). Drop by Raven Tree soon.

I’ve been watching it rain for the last half hour. Forecast calls for steady rain for the next 6-8 hours. I think it’s best to cancel and look for a better day. Stay tuned and thanks.

This is your chance to work on one of the new Gateway Trail segments. We’ll be meeting on Old McCloud Rd. at 9 am. From south Mt. Shasta Blvd., go east on Old McCloud about 2 miles, cross the RR tracks, and a short distance further you’ll see my brown pickup with the MSTA tool trailer. We’ll be lopping roots, raking tread, and doing other finish work on the recently cut-in trails. It doesn’t require much hiking. We plan to work from 9 to 12, but you can leave anytime you wish.

See you there!

A group of 13 hardy and intrepid volunteers braved cold, blustery conditions to cover slash piles on the new Gateway Trails yesterday, assisted by a USFS employee. Thanks to all who showed up. The piles will be burned later this season. Others not pictured were sent to different trails on bikes.

This past year, MSTA partnered with the USFS, the Wilderness Land Trust, Trail Labs, the Deadwood crew, and a bunch of super-eager volunteers to create a better route to Heart Lake. Numerous hikers have emphatically stated that the new trail is a huge improvement over the preexisting, confusing maze of trails. The new switchbacks have also provided fantastic views of Castle Lake.

This Saturday, Oct. 16, at 9 am, we’re going to install some directional signs on the new trail. One will be at the parking lot and others will be placed higher on the trail. We do have three USFS employees scheduled to help carry water, cement, posts, and tools, but we need others to help with the schlepping, digging, and shouting of orders. You can also lean on a shovel, heckle people mercilessly as they work, and eat donuts.

If you don’t want to climb up the trail, we’ll put you on the team working next to the parking lot. We’ll have all tools and supplies. The weather should be fantastic, so don’t stay on the couch. Meet us there, get some exercise, and have some fun.