Mt. Shasta

Mount Shasta is supposed to be one of those vortex places that has special spiritual energies which attract people from all over the world for holistic healing, etc.  As you can tell, I really don't know much about this type of thing, but all I know is I liked it.   The town at the base of the mountain was a place I wouldn't mind spending more time.  Friendly, interesting.  We found a used bookstore and loaded up on reading material, had a great hamburger, and passed a woman on the sidewalk telling fortunes.  Unique!  We were able to drive up to 7,000 feet before the road was completely blocked by snow.  And, I mean completely.  You couldn't even tell where the road went.  There were tons of people there skiing, hiking, and just enjoying the view.  I had to keep telling myself that it was the middle of June!!

We bundled up and spent some time by the side of the road reading our new books and enjoying the view of Mt. Shasta on the one side and the valley below.  It was 50 degrees.

We found a campsite that night at Castle Crags State Park, with a great view of the crags and Mt. Shasta.

Lassen Volcanic Park

Thursday, June 17.  We left the campsite after John made a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs.  We are heading up Rt. 89 towards Lassen Volcanic Park, through mountains and mountain passes, including Donner Pass.  Had lunch at an ice cream stand.  Ate outside by a creek and watched families with young children romp in the gently flowing water.  We arrived at Lassen Volcanic Park about 3:30 and went to the visitor center.  The road was not open all the way through the park yet, so we had to double back and go around to the campground.  Had our first campfire of the summer!

The next morning, Friday, we took the route up to the northern part of the park (road through the park was closed due to 25 feet of snow).  We stopped at a diner in cowboy country for breakfast, and it was the only place I had really felt uncomfortable.  They had rather explicit political stuff on the wall, which was designed to make those who did not agree feel unwelcome (or feel they were going around with a bulls-eye on their forehead).  I was trying to get away from all that this summer, and did not appreciate being reminded of the enmity which divides our country right now.  Oh, well, life goes on.

On the way to the northern part of the park, we discovered a lava tube park.  This is a place where, as lava from an ancient volcano poured down the valley, the outside hardened faster than the inside of the tube, and the inside continued to flow, leaving an almost perfectly round 'tube' of lava.  Had no idea there was such a thing.  

Arriving at the northern end of the park in the 'devastated area', we spent some time walking around learning from the signs about the different kinds of rock, different types of volcanoes, etc. We were headed for Mt. Shasta, but realized that we would not be able to find a campsite that night (most were not open yet for the summer), so drove into Redding and stayed at a Ramada and had a prime rib dinner (my favorite). 

Lake Tahoe

We kept going east on Rt. 50 to Rt. 89 north to Lake Tahoe.  We arrived in time to get a campsite and have a picnic lunch there before we took off and took the scenic route all around the lake, stopping where we wanted an extra long look at something.  We had dinner in South Lake Tahoe at a Mexican restaurant.  This is the first campground where we have a bear box, a big metal box about 3 feet long, 3 feet high and 2 feet wide in which we must put all our food and anything else that has a smell to it, if we don't want to be sorry in the morning (or sooner).  We did just that and took a walk over to Emerald Bay and watched the sunset. We also watched a tour boat and could look down upon an rather nice estate on the shore.

Following the Gold Rush

After getting the new shock absorbers and an oil change, we headed for California Rt. 49, the Gold Rush route.  We went through the towns of Jamestown, Sonora, Columbia, Angels Camp and on to Murphys, stopping for awhile in each one and savoring the flavor of the old days.  Had a cold drink in a haunted saloon, where the bartender told us of the lights being turned off and on.  Ended up for the evening in Murphys, and had our anniversary dinner at the Murphys Hotel, in the very room where President Grant, among others, had dined.  We decided to splurge and get a room at the Murphys Hotel, only not in the haunted part.

The following morning, after not having been tortured by ghosts, we had breakfast at the hotel and continued north on Rt. 49 through the towns of Mokelumne Hill, Jackson and on to Sutter Creek, where we took a tour of a gold mine, 400 feet below the surface.  We actually saw gold veins still in the rock.  Our guide was a real gold miner who currently led tours of the mine they were attempting to reopen.  You could pan for gold after the tour, but we just watched as one of the panners attempted to teach a young boy how to flip his wrist just right in order to separate the gold from the dirt.  I don't think he was very successful, but he had fun.

We were then on to Placerville, heading east on Route 50 towards Lake Tahoe.  Found a great campsite at Kyburz, along the American River, where they had first discovered gold.  Had leftovers, enjoyed a beautiful evening, read and settled in for the night. 

Yosemite 2.0

Saturday, June 12, we spent at Hetch Hetchy reservoir, which I had remembered seeing on the Ken Burns National Parks documentary series as being one of the most contentious battles in the park system.  They built this dam and flooded acres and acres of canyon land in the park.  We took a hike and had a picnic.  We set up our chairs and spent the afternoon reading.  Can say that this was not my favorite part of the park, or of anything we had seen so far.  I can only imagine what it had looked like before, and I am pretty sure I would have liked that better.

Sunday, we left our campsite at Lost Claim and went back into the park.  We walked to Lower Yosemite Falls, took one last look at the dramatic Yosemite Valley, and headed to the southern part of the park where we toured a pioneer exhibit and went to the Mariposa Grove of ancient trees (with several thousand other tourists).  You've heard of the traffic jams in the parks; well, it's true. 

After a picnic and the hike we headed to Modesto to get some work done on the car.  Remember those shocks???   We got a room at the Comfort Inn in Modesto and looked forward to getting the car worked on the following day. 

Yosemite

After bidding the deer a good day, we headed off for Lee Vining, a little town just east of Yosemite.  After breakfast and a stop for ice, we entered Yosemite via the Tioga Pass, which had just opened up a few days earlier for the summer.  We arrived in Yosemite, had a first look around at the area to get our bearings, visited  a museum, an Indian Village, and walked up to Bridal Veil Falls where we got soaked by the spray.  "Wicked cool!" I wrote in my journal.  We found a campsite at Lost Claim, a few miles away and enjoyed a picnic for lunch and cooked out for dinner.

The next morning, June 11, we went back into the park and to the Hotel Ahwahnee and made reservations for lunch to celebrate my birthday (I will not say which one).  We explored this beautiful old hotel, had coffee in the cafe, and walked around the grounds before lunch.  Lunch was great and the service was superior.  They presented me with desert with a lit candle.  HAD to eat it!

After lunch we drove up to Glacier Point for the view, and stopped at El Capitan again (we had stopped there yesterday, also) because we saw several people looking up at the cliffs.  We parked, got out with our binoculars, and eventually were able to spot probably a dozen climbers in various locations on the cliffs.  A nice young man about the age of our kids came over and shared our binoculars.  We talked to him for quite awhile about climbing.  He was planning to make the El Capitan climb in 5 years and was training for it.  He described the people up there on the cliff as the Olympians of rock climbing.  We stayed until sunset and noted several of the climbers settling in for the night on the side of the cliff, sleeping bags and all, precariously perched on little ledges.  We were suitably impressed but not envious. 

Sharing our Campsite

After our visit in Bodie, we continued north on California 395 and pulled over and got a campsite on Lundy Lake, which is just off a side road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  You wouldn't have given this road a second thought, but back there were several campsites on one side of a lake with a mountain rising up on the other side.

Early the next morning, John gently wakes me up and tells me to look outside the van.  Several deer had decided that our campsite was not quite full enough and were enjoying their breakfast and a morning rest just feet away. 

Bodie, A Ghost Town

After our R & R in Mammoth Lakes, we drove on up to Bodie, a ghost town, which dates from the 1870's gold  rush days.  About 5% of the town remains and you can take your time, walk around, look in the windows and imagine what life must have been like.  It is situated about 12 miles back on a dirt road and this will do it for our long-suffering shock absorbers.  After today, this car is embarrassing.

Brodie was fascinating.  There had been about 7,000 inhabitants, a red light district, 65 bars, and one school.  We were so absorbed, we spent two or three hours and didn't miss a single building. 

"Just Leave Me Here"

The next morning, Monday, June 7th, found us leaving Kennedy Meadows and heading north on California 395 toward Mammoth Lakes.  There was so little around there that we only found a place to have some ice cream bars for breakfast.  (Well, 1st breakfast.)  On up the road, we found a rustic cafe and had a real breakfast, amid all the cattle ranches that stretched as far as the eye could see.  John ate very well and began to feel better right away.  We drove on up through Bishop to Mammoth Lakes where we got a room at the Motel 6.  This day and the next are kind of recuperation days, and we go to a bookstore, do laundry, call the kids, eat well (which always includes pie and ice cream), and 'luxuriate' at the Motel 6.  We take the opportunity to do some scenic drives and are just overwhelmed at the beauty of the area.  There are so many places I have come across that I say to John, "Just leave me here."  And, this is one of them.  I could have just pitched my tent at Lake June and stayed forever.  Just leave me some books and my sleeping bag (and oh, yeah, some pie). 

The End of a Career

The next morning, I drove a rejuvenated John to the trailhead at Walker's Pass and watched him head happily up the trail.  I went back up the mountain to Kennedy Meadows and studied my guidebooks for the three states we were visiting this summer for the rest of the day.  Had had another episode last night of altitude sickness, but have now acclimated again to the 6,000+ feet campsite.  Spent the next couple of days at this beautiful campsite, reading, going to the general store for ice and a hamburger once in awhile, and waiting for John to catch up with me.  The trail goes pretty close to this campsite, so all I have to do is wait.

About 4:30 Sunday afternoon, a truck pulls up by the campsite and John slowly and unsteadily gets out, thanks the driver and stumbles to the chair by the fire ring at the campsite.  I've never seen him look so bad.  This time, it was a combination altitude and knee and inability to eat.  He tried to ingest some soda, which usually can settle his stomach, but that didn't even work.  He went to bed.  He finally thinks this is the end of his long-distance hiking career.  I reminded him that if he did permanent damage to his knee, that would crimp his sailing.  Think that had an effect on him.