Mt Shasta – Hidden Valley

Nine of us headed south to hike part way up the west side of Mt. Shasta to Hidden Valley. It was somewhat smoky in Ashland as we left and it got worse as we drove farther south. Then, as we headed up from Mt. Shasta (the city) to Bunny Flat, the smoke started thinning out. By the time we reached 6,900 feet elevation the smoke cleared. It was a very exciting moment for the group.

This is a hike that has a lot of up, especially in the last mile where you are tired and still need to hike up 1,200 feet to Hidden Valley. It had rained the night before so there was no dust and the loose scree and sandy soil stuck together. The trail was weak in places and it took the group to stay on track to the top.

Everyone made it to the lunch spot and we took a longer lunch than usual, enjoying the clean air, wonderful views and sunshine. It actually seemed a bit cold with 65 degree temperatures and a slight breeze. Someone ended up having melted chocolate on the outside of their pack, so an aggressive chipmuck came along to help clean up the mess.

The trip down was tricky due to the scree and sandy steep slope, along with the many boulders that needed to be overcome. We all wondered how we got up and now were wondering how we were going to make it down. However, by taking our time, everyone made it down without incident.

The group decided to go to the Pipeline Craft Taps & Kitchen in Mt. Shasta, which turned out to have a great beer menu and good fries. We all had a great time and it turned out to be a good hike with much cooler/cleaner air than we expected.

Hike Leader: Keeley

Photos By: Barry, Bob, Francie, Keeley