National Trails Day Volunteer Event Saturday, June 1stJoin in a day of community stewardship of our trails! We’ll work on a new trail and trailhead, followed by a complimentary lunch at Shastice Park and a shuttle ride courtesy of Shasta Gravity The US Forest Service, Mt. Shasta Trail Association, Bike Shasta, Trail Labs and SORA will be hosting a morning of trail work on a brand new, nearly completed (and still closed) trail in the Gateway System from a brand new trailhead on the south end of Mt. Shasta.
Volunteers will work alongside the crew from Trail Labs to shape features, rake trail, naturalize the area adjacent to the trail and there will be work to do at the new Pioneer Trailhead as well. There is something for everyone!
Thanks to The Fifth Season, Bike Shasta and Shasta Gravity, we’ll have complimentary lunch for volunteers as well as a shuttle ride when the work and lunch are done. Read details below and make sure you click the link to RSVP if you’d like lunch or a shuttle ride. Trail work day schedule:
8:30am – meet at USFS office on Alma Street to sign waivers 9:00am – carpool to work location9:30am-12:30pm – trail work and clean up at trailhead1:00pm – Shastice Park for lunch2:00pm – shuttle ride
Come prepared for trail work: work gloves, long pants and boots, long sleeve shirts, hat and water. Be prepared for the weather. Tools will be provided.What’s for lunch, you ask?
Well, we’re super excited to be welcoming a food truck new to the area. Sprengelmeyer’s Food Truck will be serving a complimentary lunch to volunteers. If you’d like a lunch, you’ll need to click this link to RSVP for lunch and select your lunch option. Sprengelmeyer’s is coming to Mt. Shasta after more than 10 years of serving delicious, organic, gluten free food in Bandon, Oregon. Brian and his crew make their food by hand (he’ll be making fresh corn tortillas that morning!). Volunteers will enjoy a large rice bowl with your choice of shredded chicken, shredded beef, snapper or a vegetarian option, along with a fresh made lemonade. You won’t get it if you don’t click the link to RSVP and sign in at the Forest Service.
The best part is you can invite your friends and family to meet you at the park where they can buy lunch off the truck from noon to 3pm. Please spread the word. We’ll be sharing this news with the community so we can all get to know this new fresh food option. Sprenglemeyer’s will be coming to the Mt. Shasta Farmers Market and Petals Flower Shop in June, so keep your eye out.
Is your mouth watering yet? Did you click the link to RSVP for lunch? Do it now. Click to RSVP for lunch and/or shuttleIf you want to join Shasta Gravity for a free shuttle to the 10 Gallon Trailhead, you’ll need to RSVP – click the big blue button above. 18 spots are available on two trips up the mountain. First come, first served.
Seven of us showed up yesterday to install the warning and crossing signs on Road 31 (upper section of Old McCloud Rd.) where Gateway Trails cross or will cross the roadway. Chris Marrone graciously provided the heavy equipment to drive the posts, saving us dozens of hours of digging and cement mixing. Others who spent either part or all of their day (we started at 0830 and finished at about 5 pm) were Mike Hlynsky, Steve Mitrovich, Mark Derby, Bill Repetto, and Paul Skilbeck.
You will also see the Nordic Center Trailhead signs that were placed on Ski Park Hwy. It was a long, hard day, but the worst of the sign installation is now done. We have many more signs to place within the trail system as construction continues, but they will be simpler and we’ll bite them off in smaller chunks.
Chris Marrone has informed me that he and his Bobcat are available to install steel signposts on Road 31 (AKA Old McCloud Rd.) this Wed, May 22. We’re going to meet at 8:30 am just below the RR tracks on Road 31. We don’t need 25 helpers, but could use about a half dozen folks to: handle the steel posts, one person to watch for approaching cars (we don’t need a formal traffic control group like last time on Everitt Mem Hwy), and install the hardware and signs. Others, like Jim Wrona, can take photos and taunt us.
This approach will save us hours of backbreaking digging of holes. We’ll probably be there a couple hours, so volunteers can come in staggered groups if more convenient (e.g. 9 am, 10, 11). Thanks!!
Over the past few weeks, the Mount Shasta Trail Association volunteer chainsaw crew (along with a few other unnamed trail angels) has been removing downed trees and brush from the trails so the rest of us can enjoy hiking and riding. We recently identified an eighty footer leaning over the Strawberry Valley Trail that was an obvious hazard. Given its size and danger, we called Josh McNulty and his gang of US Forest Service chainsaw specialists. They chunked this tree off the trail and will go back later, untangle it from the adjacent trees, and put it on the ground. Thanks to our USFS partners, and all our volunteers.
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.“
The US Forest Service, Mt. Shasta Trail Association, Bike Shasta, Trail Labs and SORA will be hosting a morning of trail work on a brand new, nearly completed (and still closed) trail in the Gateway System from a brand new trailhead on the south end of Mt. Shasta.
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