The Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance is one of MSTA’s “sister organizations” because they promote many of the same activities and events that we do and are focused, obviously, on outdoor recreation. They have a massive event coming up from Sept. 15-19 when more than a thousand people will arrive for a nationally recognized gravel road race called Grinduro. They need volunteer help to pull this off, so if you are interested, check it out at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c44abab22aafcce9-volunteer
St. Barnabas Trail Cleared
A dozen volunteers showed up on a cool, cloudy (and sometimes sprinkly) morning to remove the 5-foot high weeds covering the St. Barnabas Trail. Armed with power tools and rakes, the big, eager group made short work of the overgrowth. We even had 4 new appearances on this crew. Thanks so much for all the effort.
Reclaiming St. Barnabas Trail from overgrowth
We could still use a few helpers at St. Barnabas (701 Lassen Lane, MS 96067) tomorrow morning, Tuesday, July 27 at 9 am to remove weeds that have totally obscured the trail. We have power tools and rakes. Hope to see you.
Trail Clearing at St. Barnabas July 27 at 9 am
The St. Barnabas Trail has become totally overgrown and completely obliterated by weeds, so we’re having a work morning next Tuesday, July 27, starting at 9 am. We need 4 volunteers to run weed whackers (2 walk-behind and 2 portable) and 2 or 3 people to rake away the weeds so the weed whackers can proceed. This is not terribly hard work, and the reward is a nice, clear trail and some comraderie. If you can show up for even 30-60 minutes, it would be appreciated. With a dozen volunteers, we’ll be done in 60-90 minutes.
Please meet in the St. Barnabas Church parking lot on Lassen Lane just west of the freeway overpass and Doctors’ Park. I’ll be there between 8:30 and 9:00 preparing the power tools and rakes. Bring water, gloves, ear and eye protection (if you don’t have the gear, I’ll have some).
South Fork Sacramento Field Trip — Saturday July 24, 2021
Below is the poster for another Forest Service sponsored field trip to the South Fork Sacramento River area. One aspect of this project is the proposal for additional non-motorized trails. If interested, note that you must sign up by the end of Thursday July 22nd.
Fourth Trail Challenge Stewardship Prize Winner
The Mount Shasta Trail Association is pleased to announce our fourth stewardship prize winner, Bubba Suess. Bubba and his kids often volunteer for MSTA’s trail work days and the cleanup of illegal dump sites.
Bubba won a $25 Mount Shasta Chamber of Commerce gift certificate that can be used at local businesses. This prize is sponsored by the MSTA. All prizes can be picked up at the Mount Shasta Visitors center.
Here they are with Bubba and his Boy Scout troop working on the Spring Hill Trail.
Hike to Gray Rock Lakes — Saturday July 17, 2021
On Saturday, July 17th the Mount Shasta Trail Association invites the public on a moderate 2.5 mile hike with a 600 foot elevation gain to Gray Rock Lakes above the South Fork of the Sacramento River. While the trail is a bit of a scramble at times, the spectacular views and the pristine lakes makes it well worth the effort. Four-wheel drive vehicles with high clearance are needed to get to the trailhead. We will be carpooling as there is limited parking.
The meeting time and place is 9:00 am at 111 Morgan Way in Mt Shasta, in front of the Best Western Treehouse Motor Inn. Bring water, lunch and if interested, a bathing suit for a refreshing swim. A hiking pole is recommended. We will return by 4:00 pm. For further questions call Joan Roemer 530-925-9644.
New Gateway Trail Website
You might want to check out the Gateway Trail website that was recently finished and taken live. It features a lot of content, including the following sections: Location (explores local attractions with links), Expansion (reviews the Gateway project, including a video), Partners (all the folks and organizations who’ve joined us in this endeavor), Stewardship (how to be kind to nature), Frequently Asked Questions (hopefully helpful), and a Donate page. The website should help familiarize locals and out-of-towners with exactly what is being built.
Attached is a map of the three zones planned (Community, Big Mountain, and Learning).
Here’s the link: gatewaytrail.org
Work Day Cancelled for Sat, June 26
Given that several board members have spent this week helping direct the Deadwood Crew as they make progress through extremely dense brush on BMZ-4 of the new Gateway Trail, we’re cancelling any work this Saturday. It’s been hot and difficult up there, and Saturday is scheduled to be 97 degrees. Not wise to take volunteers into those conditions. Stay tuned for the next work day. Our sincerest thanks to the hard-working guys on Deadwood.
One more thing about the Heart Lake Trail
We were excited to have three new trail volunteers who just moved here from Texas and promptly jumped in to help on the Heart Lake Trail: Craig, Elizabeth, and Thomas. They can be seen in the photo below; Thomas in the red hat, Elizabeth and Craig to his right (our left). Great to have you. Welcome to Mt. Shasta!
