Mount Shasta

The tremendous stratovolcano called Mount Shasta -- the greatest volcano in California -- dominates the scenery for hundreds of miles around it. We climbed partway up it, ascending from the old ski bowl up past Green Butte (which, while very attractive, doesn't look very buttelike) to a ridge from which we could see a vista of Mount Shasta, the other side of Green Butte, and a lovely meadow underneath the Butte.

Actually climbing Mt Shasta can be done in a day, but apparently requires crampons and ice axes (and the knowledge of how to use them) even in summer. There are still glaciers near the top, as should be clear from the photos. We're looking up the route called "Avalanch Gulch", and the dark stripes in the snow, where perhaps large rocks fell (or extreme skiiers? :-) may indicate how it got that name. At any rate, summitting was a bit more than we had in mind, so we had to be content with our ridge.

Next: The San Andreas Fault at Point Arena.

Volcano Trip
Travel Photography