Mount Shasta Trail Association
Inspire • Create • Conserve
Autumn colors are exploding in the Mount Shasta area and it’s a perfect time to finish your 2023 Mount Shasta Trail Challenge passport! Hedge Creek Falls trail is a short easy trail that passes UNDER and BEHIND Hedge Creek Falls! Get a great view of the Sacramento River from the scenic lookout or continue all the way down to the rivers edge. Easy access and parking right off I-5 in Dunsmuir. Dogs and kids will love it. Bonus Karma for picking up trash left by others.
When I arrived at the trailhead with concrete at 8:45 am yesterday, there were already three volunteers waiting. By 9:30, we had mixed and poured 10 bags. We had to go get four more bags and were done by 10 am. We topped the holes off with gravel and raked the dirt by 10:30. Awesome job, Emma Wilcox, John McDermott, Rick Cory, Steve Larson, Jim Pepin, Neil Posson, Mike McGill, Steve Diaz, and Ray Uhlig.
The following is from Hanne Meyers at the USFS:
We are tentatively looking at conducting another prescribed burn in the Gateway trailhead area next week, as early as Tuesday October 24th. We have 270 acres identified and prepped for burning within the closure area on the attached map, split into two units. A helicopter may be utilized to assisted with ignitions of the unit, so if you see a helicopter flying over the area, don’t be alarmed.
The trails passing through the closure area on the attached map will remain temporarily closed.
Let’s pour cement to finish the kiosk installation this Sat. morning. I’ll pick up the cement between 8 and 9 am and meet everyone at McBride Trailhead at 9. All we need is an additional metal wheelbarrow and some extra 5-gallon containers of water (or anything containing water, for mixing and cleanup). This won’t take long.
Thanks.
We got it done. Eleven of us wrestled with the three posts and templates to get them level and at the correct depth. Several immovable rocks at the bottom of one hole made the job tough, but not too tough for this grizzled group. Thanks to Jim Wrona, Mark Derby, John McDermott, Ray Uhlig, Neil Posson, Steve Larson, John Kelly, Emma Wilcox, Jack Moore, and Steve Diaz.
Stay tuned because we’ll be pouring the concrete soon; possibly Saturday. The concrete, oddly, is much easier than what we did today.
We got the kiosk finished at the Ten Gallon Trailhead the other day (see Mark Derby below, smiling after putting up with me for the final steps). Now we’re starting the kiosk at McBride. We need a little more digging (some of it already done), some arranging of the steel posts, and then cement work. All I want to accomplish is the digging and placement of posts on Tuesday. We’ll do the cement later.
Please meet us at the McBride Trailhead (about 100 yards below McBride Campground) on Everitt Memorial Hwy at 9 am on Tuesday, Oct. 17. We’ll work an hour or two. Warning: if you don’t show up, I’ll do it all myself, and you’ll miss out. Reality: I can’t lift the steel posts myself.
Trail Labs has already roughed in some long segments in the Learning Zone of Gateway II near the Nordic Center, and we are gathering to do some finish work. It will be raking and shaping the tread, removing small rocks, and nipping some roots. This work day is sponsored by SORA, MSTA, and Bike Shasta. Meet at 9 am in the Nordic Center parking lot (or stop at the Park and Ride at 8:45 to carpool). This is the last phase of trail construction under our big Prop 68 Grant. Hope to see you there.
Let’s catch up and have some fun! We hope you can join us this Thursday, September 28th from 5:00-8:00 PM at the Weed Community Center . We have some good news to share, some delicious appetizers by Liza and beverages.
First off, the Spring Hill Trail is a great moderate hike with some elevation right off I-5 and downtown Mt Shasta. There is an Instagram ready view of Mount Shasta on the way up and views of Black Butte and Castle Crags from the summit. Dogs are OK, bikes are not, and kids will love it:)
Secondly, Mount Shasta City Park offers 2 miles of easy trail. The headwaters of the Sacramento River are are a great place to cool down after your hike! The headwaters are a very special place. Another option is to hike the City Park before tackling the moderate hike up Spring Hill.
Still a few months to finish the 2023 Mount Shasta Trail Challenge! Check out these and all the other great Mt Shasta area hikes on the Trail Guide tab of the MSTA website here.
Big thanks to the nine folks who came out this Monday to do finishing work on Middle Muir’s Ascension (Eric Blomberg, Mark Derby, Dave Peterson, Steve Diaz, Neil Jacobs, Mike Hupp, Bryson, and Renee. We got so much work done!
Help us finish up the hand work on a new Gateway trail this Saturday, Sept 23rd at 9am. We’ll meet at 9am on the south side of Everitt Memorial at the gravel road a half mile below the McBride Springs Campground. Look for a gravel pullout and small parking area just off the gravel road (we’ll be waiting for you there).
From Everitt Memorial we’ll carpool (high clearance vehicles only) or walk about a quarter mile to the trail. We’ll work our way down, raking and shaping the trail. This is light to moderate work with some amount of walking. We plan to wrap up by noon; stay only as long as you like. Bring water, gloves and a snack. We have hardhats and tools.
This is a great chance to see a new section of trail that’s part of the current buildout. Middle Muir’s Ascension is the section that connects Muir’s from the new parking lot across from the McBride Springs Campground down to Moon Doggie. Once this trail has sat over the winter, it’s going to be really fun to ride and hike.
This is part of a series of fall workdays to finish this trail and go to work on other new trails to put them to bed for the winter. Mount Shasta Trail Association, Bike Shasta and Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance are partnering to bring people together to help finish the work done by Trail Labs Co and to build a diverse community of trail users who care about and care for these trails and lands.
