Mount Shasta

For some reason I was drawn to this mountain,  I heard about it for years and really wanted to see it,  but I’m not really sure why.  That was until I got here, and then I understood.   Last night as I was driving,  I could see the mountain for basically the whole drive.  I started seeing it over 100 miles away even with the smoke from the fires.  The north side was still covered in a lot of snow.   The base is around 4000 ft,  and the top is over 14000. It really stands alone without any other large mountains near it.

As I approached, I saw a sign for the Mount Shasta wilderness roads (in a national forest), So I decided to see if I could find a nice place to camp (for free) along this road in the shadow of the mountain.  About a mile in (the very rough road) I found a pullout that was a landing spot for hang and para-gliders.  It was level with a nice view of the mountain last night. 

 

 

This morning I didn’t feel in any rush to get anywhere,  I read, had breakfast, took a shower and did some organizing and cleaning, in the middle of the Mount Shasta wilderness without a sole around.  There is something really calming about this mountain.  I have always heard that people felt a serenity around Mount Shasta, they don’t feel anywhere else.  I agree.  This morning it was slowly revealing itself from the clouds and smoke.  I can’t think of a better way to start the day.

Yesterday for a general direction from Crater Lake,  I put Mount Shasta in the Garmin,  and it came up with Mount Shasta Resort.  So I thought that would be a great destination for lunch.  I mainly cook in the camper,  but lunch with a view at a resort sounded like a good start.   It was mainly a golf resort,  but the restaurant had an outdoor patio with a view of the mountain (was starting to clear off)  I had a really good salad and a burger, while enjoyed the view and the sunshine.  They even had free wifi!   So I hung out here for a while and got some work done on the computer.   As I was leaving I talked to the waiter and he said I should drive up the road towards the top of Mount Shasta.  Sounded like a great idea to me so off I went,  pulling off at all the overlooks and enjoying the south side of the mountain.  It was a really nice, calm day around Mount Shasta.