NORTHBOUND

Whenever people ask me where I'm from, I usually just say northern California. I've lived in San Jose for just over 7 years now, but I still find it funny whenever someone mentions Cupertino or San Francisco as northern California. To me, true northern California is north of Sacramento, the very beginning of the Pacific Northwest. My hometown of Mount Shasta is one of those phenomenons where seemingly everyone passes through it but doesn't stop.

Despite being my hometown, there are still a ton of places in the surrounding area I've never been to: Mossbrae Falls, Ney Springs, Panther Meadows, Goss Creek...there's so much to explore that even when I was a local I never took the time to find these places. With the free time that I've had lately, I've been able to visit family up there more often than I have in years. My brother also recently moved from Huntington Beach to Grants Pass, OR, which has really extended my visits beyond just visiting Mount Shasta.

This last month I've been lucky enough to finally visit some of these spots and bask in the mountainous, springtime beauty of the land.

First stop is Ney Springs. This was a massive resort before the 1930's, but the increasing popularity of the car killed a lot of the sprawling resorts that relied on masses of train passengers for business. At some point in the mid-30's most of the buildings were swept away in a mudslide; all that remains now is a few concrete features of the resort's foundation. Above is a fountain connected to a natural spring: you can fill your canteen up from this fountain, the water is incredibly pure.

A short hike away from Ney Springs is Faery Falls, a place I'd never even heard of. With the snow in full melt in early spring, the falls were running stronger than they do most of the year (or so I'm told). The falls look like something Lewis and Clark would have stumbled upon in their trek across the country.

As a gargantuan geological landmark, Mount Shasta has an interesting effect on the surrounding area. As storms move into the area from the south, the rains fall almost entirely on Dunsmuir, Mount Shasta City, and McCloud. The mountain creates an enormous rain shadow over everything to the north; from Weed up to the Siskiyou Pass north of Yreka is flat and dry, and the back side of the mountain is an arid, highland desert. Dunsmuir not only lies directly in the path of approaching storms, but is also nestled in a valley that funnels all of the snowmelt from the surrounding mountains.
Headed north on I-5 you can take the northern-most exit into Dunsmuir for Hedge Creek Falls. The falls are super easy to get to: a quick jaunt downhill gets you there in a couple minutes. Because it's so easy to get to, timing is an important factor. At 11:00AM on a Friday we saw hardly anyone there, but even a few other people can ruin any photo opportunities.

Further into Dunsmuir one can hike to Mossbrae Falls. The trail there is controversial because there is none; instead, getting there requires walking on or next to the railroad tracks for about a mile. This is really great at dissuading tourists for better or worse; a German coworker of mine and his wife tried hiking to the falls, but turned around for fear of being hit by a train (plus it would make a pretty lame obituary). A friend and former forest fire coworker of mine is on the Dunsmuir city council, but any attempt they've made to make a safer, designated trail has been met with opposition from the railroad or private landowners. Still, if you can find parking and aren't afraid of the tracks, the falls are an awesome sight.

Go if you can, photos don't do it justice.

West of Mount Shasta City is Lake Siskiyou, a popular destination in the summertime. My dad has a sailboat we take out there once it's warmed up enough, but that's for another time. 7 miles north of Lake Siskiyou is Castle Lake, a high-elevation body of water just below the timberline. In the winter and early spring Castle Lake is eerie and has a hauntingly beautiful quality. You can swim here in the summer, but even in June the water is freezing.

The colors are incredible, and create a uniquely mountainous palette. I even took photos of some of the foliage for their muted, earthy greens.

In any case, as spring gives way to summer I'll surely be up there again. While the summertime has its own unique vibes, spring in the mountains is cool and cloudy. If you're headed up that way and want to see some of these locations, just shoot me an email and I'll point you in the right direction.

05.22.18

NORTHBOUND