After receiving a gracious OK from the landowner (George Kay) to create a safe crossing over a spillway on Quail Hill, MSTA volunteers placed lumber and ropes today. A second small walkway was placed uphill at another crossing. Shown are the workers (one nut in the creek) and our first, happy (and safer) hiker.
Today, five lunatics assembled at the Parks Creek Trailhead to install a new kiosk adjacent to the brand, new pit toilets. It was the usual group from the Mt. Shasta Trail Association, along with Forrest Coots from the US Forest Service. We tripped over one another, argued over how to dig the holes and place the posts, and generally had a great time. Shown are Glenn Harvey and John Schuyler mixing cement while Forrest Coots supervises, and Mark Telegin touching up the results. Shockingly, it all came out well, and we’ll be placing the panels and maps soon.
This morning, a dozen community-minded folks showed up to remove the weeds and overgrown sweet pea behind the library and leading into Sisson Meadow. I miscalculated the size of the job, but we cut and slashed a huge amount of vegetation left from the wet winter.
Many thanks to Carol Simpson, Larry Dabrois, Molly Breitmun, Glenn Harvey, David Tucker, Will McCleary, Adam Henson, and Laura and Jessica (sorry, I don’t have their last names). Don’t forget our superheroes of illegal encampment eradication, Perry Sims and Todd Cory; they removed the slash screens that provided cover for several camps, and hauled out garbage left by the transients.
At the end, a somewhat crazed Molly said, “This was fun! When are we gonna come back and finish the job?”
Love your spirit and enthusiasm, Molly.
JH
The Mount Shasta Trail Association invites the public to join them on a moderate hike to one of the jewels of our area recently added to our national forest lands: Rock Fence Lake.
This lake is in the Scott Mountains, just east of Kangaroo Lake and is on one of the sections the Forest Service obtained earlier this year working with the Pacific Crest Trail Association and the Trust for Public Lands. We will drive about 1-1/2 miles on a good unpaved forest road (small SUV’s ok) before parking and hiking the rest of the way (about 2 miles each way) on a much rougher, but very walk-able road. Elevation gain is a little less than 1000 ft.
Meeting time and place is 9 AM at 111 Morgan Way in front of the Best Western Tree House in Mount Shasta. We will pass by the Gazelle Grange no earlier than 9:40 AM and pick up any who are waiting there at that time. Bring lunch, sun protection, and water. For information contact John Thomson at 530 926-4430.
Our site has a new look!
If you’re a frequent visitor to the MSTA website, you may notice some things have changed today. Besides a new look and feel, we are revamping pages and updating our content.
Today’s update includes changes to:
Look forward to more updates in the near future. Check out the site and please Contact Us with any feedback or bugs you encounter.
I’ve been avoiding this for some time, but recently forced myself to walk behind the MS Library to check out the growth of weeds, bushes, trees, etc. It looks like a jungle, and a huge fire hazard (see photos). It’s been chosen as one of the top priorities by our “crazy old men” group of MSTA workers for a cleanup.
Please consider showing up on Saturday morning, Sept. 14, at 9 am to weed whack, cut, trim, rake, and generally thrash the area behind the library, extending toward Sisson Meadow.
This will be mostly light work. We’ll need weed whackers, hedge trimmers, clippers, loppers, and lots of people to rake up the slash into piles that can be burned when the cool, moist weather arrives.
To do this right, we’re gonna need about 20 volunteers, so start beating the bushes (no pun intended) for helpers. As usual, you don’t need to commit to any amount of time. Come and go as you wish; we’ll be grateful.
Thanks,
JH
PS: If you agree to come, I’ll bring whatever refreshments/snacks you want (just contact me with requests)! When I bring donuts, no one eats them, and then I have to snarf them all.
One of the underrated gems of the Mt Shasta region is the Sisson Callahan Trail or SCT. Originally a series of prospector trails in the mid-1800s, in 1911 the Forest Service established a permanent trail along today’s route. The full length of the SCT runs from the Lake Siskiyou area into the Trinity Divide, cresting the shoulder of Mt Eddy and dropping into Deadfall Lakes basin, eventually meeting the famous PCT.
Partially owing to its remoteness and partially due to its consistent uphill grade, the SCT is quiet. This author took a hike there today and saw exactly 0 people along 8 miles of lower trail.
The trail follows the North Fork Sacramento river for its entire length, climbing to the very headwaters on the slopes of Mt Eddy. In total the climb is over 3,000′ elevation gain (or loss, depending on your perspective!) The latter makes this particularly popular with downhill MTB riders – try Shasta Gravity Adventures for a shuttle ride to the top!
Access is challenging, out a high-clearance forest road. But if you’re up for an adventure, the SCT is waiting for you! Check out our trail guide.
On June 26, 2019, forty volunteers got together to clean up several areas southeast of Grocery Outlet near the truck stop on Vista Drive off I-5. The team included the Mt. Shasta Trail Association, Clean and Safe Mt. Shasta, Gear Up of Weed (organized by Kelsea Ochs), and citizens of Weed and Mt. Shasta. The City of Weed Public Works Dept. contributed a huge dump truck, a flatbed truck, and a loader with jaws.
The first two photos show some of the mess before our tenacious volunteers got started.
Then, everyone got to work.
Without the help of the Weed Public Works guys, we couldn’t have moved the massive pile of heavy stuff.
Many thanks to all who participated.
The Mount Shasta Trail Association is pleased to announce that John Thomson has joined its Board of Directors.
John has spent a good portion of his entire life in Mt Shasta. As a descendant of a true 49er, he has continued a family tradition of loving the California mountains (his great grandfather was photographing them before Ansel Adams). He learned to ski in the Old Ski Bowl, has climbed THE MOUNTAIN 4 times, and picked up his Dad’s love of exploring and navigating.
Back in 1967 John helped build a family cabin on Hill Rd. More recently, he and his wife Eugenie have remade the cabin into their home and have been true Mt. Shasta full-timers since 2017.
John followed his passion for public transit by getting both an BS and MS in Civil Engineering at Stanford. His career was entirely spent working as a consultant to public transportation agencies, generally in project management or related roles.
His favorite activities are hiking, bike riding, skiing, snow shoeing, photography, exploring and improving his home. Before an old neck injury stopped him, he was a champion sailor.
You can find John leading a hike (or other “wander”) somewhere in our area just about every week as Scribe for the Siskiyou Wanderers.
The Mount Shasta Trail Association is happy to announce that Lynda Hardy has joined its Board of Directors.
Lynda is a long time community leader and has lived and worked in Siskiyou County for 42 years. Now happily retired, Lynda worked for 32 of those years teaching Elementary School in Mount Shasta and Dunsmuir. She was selected and worked as an Educational Science Consultant for the prestigious Lawrence Hall of Science based out of Berkeley, CA.
Lynda was one of the founding members of the Mountain Runners non-profit organization. During her years volunteering for Mountain Runners, she worked as the co-director of many Fourth of July Races and Winter Triathlons. She co-coordinated and grew the Fun Runs successfully and was active in its fundraising campaigns.
An avid skate and backcountry skier, Lynda also continues to hike and mountain bike our local trails. Some of her other interests are sailing and painting.
