Finally! The smoke from the huge fires in western Siskiyou County and Trinity County shifted away from the Mount Shasta area. My sweetheart Stephanie Hoffman and I took full advantage for an impromptu hike.
We chose the Deadfall Lakes (Hike 52 in 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California), one of my favorite places anywhere. We visit at least once a year and try to climb Mount Eddy whenever we can. We drove past Stewart Mineral Springs and on up to Parks Creek Saddle.
We joined the Pacific Crest Trail and soon had magnificent views of the Trinity Alps to the west. We walked nearly level through on open forest of Jeffrey pine and red fir and passed several springs that supported lush grasses and stunning wildflowers.
Even my golden retriever Molly (pic below) felt the full spirit of the day. She’s pushing 12 and suffers from arthritis, so we decided to make Middle Deadfall Lake, about two miles in, our main destination.
We sat, sunned, and soaked up the beauty of Middle Deadfall Lake for several hours. Here’s my darlin’ Stephanie taking in the view of water, ridge, and sky:
If you want to go, the best time of year is July and August when the wildflower bloom is at its peak. The full hike to the summit of Mount Eddy is five miles one way with a 2500-foot elevation gain, but well worth the effort for the stunning vistas of Mount Shasta, Black Butte, the Trinity Alps, Castle Crags, and other Trinity Divide/Klamath mountains.
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[…] (Gotta point out that Derek was eventually found by a search-and-rescue dog that just happened to be a golden retriever. Some of you may know that I’m quite fond of the breed, and that my Molly is a twelve-year-old golden. Here she is on the Pacific Crest Trail on the way to Deadfall Lakes.) […]