Castle Lake, nestled in the Trinity Divide mountains near Castle Crags Wilderness, ranks as one of my favorite Mount Shasta spots. I get up there several times a year, swimming in the lake on hot days or hiking the trail up to Heart Lake or further … [Continue reading]
Take a Guided Hike on the Whiskeytown Falls Trail
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is a Redding area treasure. It has lots of trails, lots of creeks, and some crashing waterfalls, with Whiskeytown Falls by far the most spectacular.If you like guided hikes, than you are in luck: a ranger will … [Continue reading]
Backbone Fire Closes Several Hiking Trails in the Western Trinity Alps Wilderness
The Backbone Fire on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest and Six Rivers National Forest has led officials to close several hiking trails in the western portion of the Trinity Alps Wilderness. (I recently wrote about hiking trail conditions in the … [Continue reading]
I Won a Blogging Award, Kinda
The travel website www.tripbase.com recently handed out awards for the best blogs in a variety of categories. The Northern California Hiking Trails blog was a finalist in the walking/backpacking category. Now, there's definitely some very good blogs … [Continue reading]
Free Entrance to National Parks Next Weekend, July 18-19, 2009
The feds are letting us into national parks for free July 18-19, and, mark your calendars, the weekend of August 15-16 also.There are lots of trails for hikers in nearly all of these parks, so take advantage of your government's largesse and do … [Continue reading]
Hiking Seven Lakes Basin Trails in the Trinity Divide Mountains
Seven Lakes Basin in the Trinity Divide Mountains west of Mount Shasta is easily reached by the Pacific Crest Trail, and it's one of Northern California's hidden treasures. It holds Upper Seven Lake, Lower Seven Lake, and several smaller lakes, with … [Continue reading]
Keep Your Dog from Freaking Out on Fourth of July
Many dogs totally freak when they hear fireworks. (My golden Molly is mostly deaf now, and we live in a rural area with little of the explosiveness of most locations in America today, so it's not a major concern for me now, but it has been in the … [Continue reading]
Party in Hiking Paradise: Mount Shasta on July da Fourth
This is a great week to visit the Mount Shasta area. The town of Mount Shasta is well-known for putting on a great Fourth of July bash that brings thousands of visitors to the tiny mountain town. Here are the main events:several great bands and … [Continue reading]
California State Parks Foundation Photo Contest: You Good Enough?
There's been a lot of attention paid to the California State Park system over the last few weeks as hikers and other park lovers fight to keep parks open in the face of Governer Schwarzenegger's myopic attempt to slash the park budget.Well, let's … [Continue reading]
Ken DeCamp’s Intriguing Lichen Photos on Display at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area’s Visitor Center
Ken DeCamp is one of the premier nature/outdoors photographers in the northern California, and he has loads of stunning images of the Trinity Alps and other Trinity County and Shasta County locations on his website.But the main news: Ken has an … [Continue reading]
Trinity Alps Hiking Trails Update
Note: Get the weekly updates on Trinity Alps trail conditions from the Forest Service.The Shasta-Trinity National Forest recently released an update on trail conditions for the Trinity Alps. Overall the outlook is quite good for summer … [Continue reading]
Hiking Chaos Crags Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park
The Chaos Crags Trail is near the northwest edge of Lassen Volcanic National Park, andleaves from the Manzanita Lake campground. The Chaos Crags Trail takes you to Crags Lake and some of the starkest, steepest topography in Lassen Volcanic National … [Continue reading]
Main Park Road in Lassen Volcanic National Park Opens Friday, June 5th
Finally! The main park road in Lassen Volcanic National Park opens Friday, June 5th. Note that there's still a lot of snow at the higher elevations of the park, so you may want to wait a couple of weeks before doing your favorite hikes, and … [Continue reading]
River Exchange Fundraiser: Support the Upper Sacramento River Watershed and Trails
The River Exchange is one of my favorite organizations in Siskiyou County. They do a lot of work to protect the watersheds of the Upper Sacramento River and also the McCloud River (including the stretch with the trail to Lower, Middle, and Upper … [Continue reading]
California State Parks Closure List — Are Your Favorites Here?
Governor Schwarzenegger proposes closing 220 California state parks, a misguided attempt to help close the budget deficit given that it will save only $213 million through the end of 2010.Closing these parks would be a major blow for California … [Continue reading]
Help Save California State Parks — And Their Hiking Trails
I just received an e-mail from the California State Parks Foundation. Please read and donate if you can. (I just sent some dough.) Greetings, Here we go again! Even after we fought off last year's proposal to close 48 state parks, the … [Continue reading]
Hiking Trinity Divide Trails: Cliff Lakes and the Pacific Crest Trail
My sweetheart Stephanie and I spent the Memorial Day weekend camping and hiking in the Trinity Divide mountains just west of Mount Shasta, including the Cliff Lakes and the Pacific Crest Trail. What Are the Trinity Divide Mountains? What's the … [Continue reading]
Goin’ Hikin’ this Weekend
And I hope you are too.My sweetheart Stephanie and I, plus my really-getting-older golden retriever Molly (nearly 13!) are headed into the Trinity Divide mountains just west of Mount Shasta in a couple of hours. We'll likely do the … [Continue reading]
I’ll Be at the Authors’ Night Event at Sisson Museum in Mount Shasta
Doin' little publicity for 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California and 75 Hikes in California's Mount Shasta and Lassen Volcanic National Park Regions this week.What: Authors Night at Sisson Museum in Mount Shasta. We'll all give short talks and … [Continue reading]
Flower Lovin’ on the Lassen National Forest this Week, May 18-22
I dig the Susanville area. Some people are wiggy about Susanville because of the state prison there, but I don't let that bother me.Susanville is near the dividing line of the Sierra Nevada's vast forests and the juniper/sagebrush of the … [Continue reading]
John Soares’ New Writing Adventure
Yes, I do other things besides hike, write hiking guides, and blog about hiking.Like many other outdoors bloggers, I'm a full-time writer. In my case, I've made most of my income since leaving college teaching in 1994 by writing supplements and … [Continue reading]
May Hike of the Month: Whitney Butte/Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument is a relatively unknown gem nestled in Northern California. It's chief claim to fame are the dozens of lava-tube caves that snake below it -- and occasionally surface. It also boasts expansive views over much of the … [Continue reading]
Waterfall Week at Whiskeytown Lake April 25-May 3, 2009
Late April: the longer days bring more sunshine that melts the snow in the mountains around Whiskeytown Lake, sending the water rushing down the steep slopes. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area has several waterfalls; three in particular are … [Continue reading]
Should You Run From a Mountain Lion?
Many hikers are justifiably concerned about encountering a mountain lion on or near the trail. Accepted wisdom says you should stand your ground and appear threatening to the mountain lion.But a new study from UC Davis (Go Aggies!) researchers … [Continue reading]
Tom Stienstra Sierra Nevada Crossing Presentation
Tom Stienstra recently backpacked the Sierra Nevada from east to west, starting near Mount Whitney, as some early pioneers did.The Mount Shasta Trail Association (I'm on the board of directors) proudly sponsors a presentation by Tom Stienstra, … [Continue reading]
