any other hikers here?

[RenoZag]

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[RenoZag]

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[gu03alum]

I drove down to Shasta on Friday and arrived at Bunny Flats around 7:30. It took a lot longer to get down there than we had hoped. We set out for Horse Camp which was about 1.6 miles from the trailhead. We go there around 8:30 and set up camp. We were able to find a spot not covered with snow to set up our tents. It was cold. The next morning we woke up at 2 AM and got ready to go. We set out around 3. We got to Helen Lake around 5:45. It was very windy and cold. My feet were numb. We took a break and then headed up to Red Banks. I had felt pretty good up to this point, but I think the break with the cold made me stiff. We went up another 1,000 feet or so and were pretty exhausted. I think we all could have made it further, but we made the decision to turn around. In the moment, I was happy with the decision, but as I descended I thought maybe we pulled the plug too early. Oh well, now I have a reason to come to Shasta again to try it again and more motivation to get into better shape. When I do this again I will give myself more time so that I can hike up to Helen Lake the day before the climb so I don't have to do so much in one day.

Picture of the mountain from the Bunny Flats parking lot.


When the sun rose we could see the shadow of the mountain.

[gu03alum]

Yesterday, I climbed Silver Peak and Abiel Peak. Was going to try to climb Tinkham also, but we ran out of time. We started out in our rain gear and it was raining hard. By the time we got to the top of Silver Peak the rain had quit. It was cold with or without the rain. Climbing Abiel was fun. It was a difficult climb that went straight up through a wooded area. There was slippery mud in places. There was not much to see on either peak because of the clouds, but I still enjoyed the views.

[seacatfan]

Took advantage of Canyon Creek Rd. (off Mt. Baker Hwy) being open, at least temporarily. I'd never been up there before. Kind of a fun drive. For a road that is reported as "damaged" it's in better shape than some roads that aren't considered damaged (at least not nearly as many potholes). Damfino Lakes to Excelsior Pass is a quick and easy route to high meadow country. After lounging on top of Excelsior Peak for a bit I continued a little east along High Divide, then doubled back. I couldn't resist taking a boot path for a short jaunt heading in the direction of Church Mtn. I didn't go very far, the path continued, I wouldn't be surprised that it continues all the way over to connect w/ the trail up to Church. Surprising number of people out on a beautiful Monday.

Tuesday, not so beautiful, and not so many people out. Church Mtn. has been on my list forever, finally got around to it. That's a butt kicker. Starts to be worth it as you traverse thru a series of beautiful meadows. Marmots everywhere. The top (well it's not the true summit, but a high vantage where there used to be a lookout) is pretty cool, despite the lack of views. Don't trip, not much room to fall up there without going off a cliff. Flowers are really blooming nicely.



edited--adding a link to a trip report w/ some pics

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8029931

[kitzbuel]

My foot has finally eased up enough to start doing a little hiking. I still am not running on it yet and that sucks because June temperatures here were wonderful for early morning runs and I have been stuck in gyms on exercise bikes.

Anyway, took my oldest and her boyfriend for a hike in the Shenandoah National Park. We went down a rocky gorge called the Big Devil Stairs. The Shenandoah is really different from out west in that many of the hikes start at the high point. The Skyline Drive runs down the spine of the Shenandoah National Park and the trail heads go down from there.

It was really pleasant with the trail running down under the forest shade. We went fairly early, started by 8:00 and made it down to the huge granite outcropping (Devil's Stairs) that overlooks the Shenandoah valley.

We finished up before noon and linked up with the rest of my family at a little pizzaria in Madison, VA. My youngest is at a summer camp there and they let family pick them up for the afternoon on weekends. So my wife picked her up and met us for lunch.

It was a nice day.

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[seacatfan]

That sounds like a really nice day kitzbuel!

My brother was in Fairfax for several years, I did a couple hikes in Shenandoah NP with him while he was there. Old Rag was a really fun scramble. The other was a nice loop along 2 different creeks w/ a bunch of waterfalls--White Oak Canyon-Cedar Run. Saw a bobcat somewhere in the middle of that second hike.

[kitzbuel]

That sounds like a really nice day kitzbuel!

My brother was in Fairfax for several years, I did a couple hikes in Shenandoah NP with him while he was there. Old Rag was a really fun scramble. The other was a nice loop along 2 different creeks w/ a bunch of waterfalls--White Oak Canyon-Cedar Run. Saw a bobcat somewhere in the middle of that second hike.

I've done Old Rag a couple of times. It is a fun hike. The White Oak Canyon is on my list for later this summer. The falls back up there apparently have great swimming holes.

[RenoZag]

Near I-80, west of Cisco Grove


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[gu03alum]

I was in Banff area last week and did not do as much hiking as I had hoped. We stopped in Kamloops on the way to Banff and I did a short hike that afternoon in Kenna Cartwright Park which rewarded me with views of Kamloops and the river.

When we were camping in Banff, I had planned on getting up early and going for a hike. That did not happen. The rain happened instead in the mornings and I didn't feel like getting out of the tent early in the morning to prepare for a hike in the rain. After camping 3 nights, we went to Kananaskis Lodge. It was raining there also, but I had my rain gear. I went for a hike the second day that we were there. I had originally planned on climbing one of the nearby mountains, but changed my mind because of the rain. I started out on one trail, but came across a very large and fresh bear droppings. I turned around and went up another trail instead. I had bear spray, but didn't really want to have to use it. We had already seen a Grizzly and her cubs a few days earlier and a black bear the day before. The trail was muddy and a few times my boot was swallowed by the mud. I came across a trailhead for a lookout I had read about called Mt Kidd lookout. I headed up the trail. There were no switchbacks and the mud made it very slick. I made it up passed the trees and kept hiking up. This area was covered with wildflowers. It was very pretty. I could occasionally see my hotel from there when the clouds and fog would clear briefly. Above me was totally covered with clouds. I was tired of slipping in the mud and figured I wouldn't get many views at the lookout so I turned around. Coming back down was even harder than going up. I slipped and fell on my rear end a couple of times. I came back to the trail and completed a loop. I did about 6.5 miles of hiking in the pouring rain and enjoyed most of it. It was one of the only times on the trip where I did something that didn't have 100s of other people doing the same thing. I only encountered a few people and all of them were within a quarter mile of the hotel.

[bartruff1]

Hiking in Grizzly Bear Country always has a edge to it......if we are going to have Grizzly Bears in the lower 48 we will need to establish a genetic pathway from Wyoming to Alaska....

The only hiking I have done at Banff was on the Banff Springs Golf Course that is nearly 5000' in elevation....the complement to a round at Furnace Creek that is below sea level....

[gu03alum]

Hiking in Grizzly Bear Country always has a edge to it......if we are going to have Grizzly Bears in the lower 48 we will need to establish a genetic pathway from Wyoming to Alaska....

The only hiking I have done at Banff was on the Banff Springs Golf Course that is nearly 5000' in elevation....the complement to a round at Furnace Creek that is below sea level....

I haven't really done it until this last hike and I was surprised that I was worried about the bears. I was by myself and talking to myself to make sure they heard me coming.

I probably told this story before, but my dad told me about going to Yellowstone when he was a kid. My grandpa was feeding a grizzly out the car window some leftover cake they had. When he ran out of cake the bear was still hungry and took a big bite out of the seat my grandfather was sitting in before my grandmother could get the car out of there.

[seacatfan]

Got another perspective of the Napeequa Valley from above (third different vantage point I've seen it from): Boulder Pass. White River trail is totally brushy and overgrown anywhere it's not in deep forest, kind of a pain. Not as brushy once you reach the junction and starting heading towards Boulder Pass. Some nice meadows and good views eventually up there. Really beautiful area, but it might be a "once is enough" trip for me. First backpacking trip of the year for me. Spent 2 nights so I could spend all day on Sunday rambling around and not have to worry about having enough energy to get back to the car. I have no idea how early I got up this morning (no watch), but I was back at the car at 8:45 am. Camp was 8 or 9 miles up the trail.

[gu03alum]

Got another perspective of the Napeequa Valley from above (third different vantage point I've seen it from): Boulder Pass. White River trail is totally brushy and overgrown anywhere it's not in deep forest, kind of a pain. Not as brushy once you reach the junction and starting heading towards Boulder Pass. Some nice meadows and good views eventually up there. Really beautiful area, but it might be a "once is enough" trip for me. First backpacking trip of the year for me. Spent 2 nights so I could spend all day on Sunday rambling around and not have to worry about having enough energy to get back to the car. I have no idea how early I got up this morning (no watch), but I was back at the car at 8:45 am. Camp was 8 or 9 miles up the trail.

sounds like a fun adventure! You must have been in a hurry to get a cup of coffee or something

[seacatfan]

sounds like a fun adventure! You must have been in a hurry to get a cup of coffee or something

I was ready to be done w/ feeding the mosquitoes. Obnoxious after a while. I really don't like slathering DEET on myself. I've got some herbal stuff that's semi effective. Mostly I just flail my arms around and call them bad names. Well I squash quite a few of them too but no matter how many I kill there's always more of them.