The weather was beautiful the day before Christmas Eve so we decided to take a trip up to the Mt. Shasta area.
Our first stop was to Castle Lake to the west of Mt. Shasta City. Surprisingly, Castle Lake at 5440 ft. elevation was not frozen over! The road up to the lake affords some beautiful views of Mt. Shasta.
Next, we proceeded east of Mt. Shasta City up Everett Memorial Highway, which used to be the road to the old Mt. Shasta Ski Bowl.
The Ski Bowl was a jumpin’ place in the ’70s, before it succumbed to an untimely demise due to an avalanche in 1978.
During the summer, Everett Memorial Highway still leads to where the Ski Bowl used to be and provides an amazing vantage point for breathtaking views of Lassen Peak, Castle Crags and surrounding areas.
But this time of year due to snow, the road ends at Bunny Flat. Bunny Flat is a strategic location in that its’ primary function is to provide a jumping-off point (for the more adventuresome among us) to climb Mt. Shasta.
It is also a haven for snowshoeing, sledding and enjoying an up-close-and-personal view of Mt. Shasta.
Then we decided to drop by the Mt. Shasta Ski Park for a refreshing adult beverage.
Whereas the Ski Bowl was a good distance above the treeline (7800 ft elevation), the Ski Park (5476 ft elevation) is comfortably ensconced in the forest significantly reducing the danger of another avalanche.
After the long drought, it was good to see it in full operation.
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Andy Ooley is a local musician and Redding native. When not building ultrasonic medical equipment for a local manufacturer, he can often be found playing music with The Lou White Band and occasionally doing a solo gig around Redding. He and his wife Bernie enjoy traversing the north state hiking, biking, kayaking, snowshoeing, motorcycling- and most anything else that involves exploring the beautiful North State in which we live.
