Post Trip Update Part 1 of 3

It has been a week since I returned from my 2 week solo camping trip in Northern California and Southern Oregon.  I discovered the blogger app on my phone does not post and is still experiencing the same issues it had when I traveled in 2012, so I delayed an update post until now (this is after 2 phone upgrades, so it's for sure the software, not the hardware).

Cal Fire Map

I departed San Jose early on Saturday August 4th, well aware that north of me were several large forest fires that were burning along my rout.  First two fires I passed were near Clear Lake on 101 (River Fire, as of writing this was 100% contained and the Ranch Fire at 67% contained), though I was traveling I5 I was still dealing with the smoke, poor visibility and falling ash.

I made a stop at R&K Orchard in Corning California, who have a little farm stand and amazing peaches on a family farm that has been in the family for over 100 years!  Worth a visit if you are in the area!  Down the street is a little burger place, called Bartels Giant Burgers, that has wonderful burgers cooked to order and occasionally has shakes made with peaches from R&K.  The place is built in a building that looks like it was formerly a gas station.  Family owned and run, the place is reminiscent of a classic burger joint form the 50s.  Always friendly staff and good food made to order!  I ate inside due to the excessive smoke in the air.

Heading north from there I had to pass by Redding California, which was still dealing with the massive Carr fire.  When I was passing through the fire was not even at 50% contained.  I stopped in at Lake Shasta at the Shasta Caverns visiting center to stretch my legs again and was greeted with a a lot of falling ash. I had to wear an N95 mask as it was uncomfortable to breathe with so much smoke in the air.  I did not take a tour of the caverns, but I'd recommend them as it is pretty awesome to see.  Quick visit wrapped up, I continued north to the lovely town of Mt Shasta which is one of my yearly stops on this trip.  I stop here for supplies to take to camp such as fuel, produce or any little thing I may have forgotten when packing.

Blue Juniper Camp Ground

After my stop in town I headed north to my first camp site.  I was in a super secluded location about 1.5 miles down dirt road of off the 99-97 cutoff in Montague California.  The site was hazy from the smoke, but I feel I would have been worse off had I been on Mt. Shasta.  The area was sandy, had some beautiful juniper trees and sage brush.  The site was clean, quiet and secluded.  Just what I wanted for my first two nights.  The first sunset was amazing, the sun was vibrant pink due to the smoke in the area.  My camera was unable to capture what I saw.

Day two was a day of hiking and sight seeing was lovely.  I did three small hikes.  Two on Mt Shasta and one at Plutos Cave.  My first hike

Bunny Flats facing towards town

was the Bunny Flats loop located 6950 ft above sea level.  I have done this hike before, camped in the camp ground across the street from here and was a great break from the smoke at the lower elevations.  Views were poor due to smoke in the air, but the hike was lovely as usual.  The temperature was a moderate 75F and perfect to kick off the triple hike day.  I've seen this view on a clear day and it is amazing!  The hike is gentle enough that it can be done by almost anyone.

Panther Meadow path

My second hike was Panther Meadows located higher up on the mountain.  I've been wanting to do this hike for a few years now as I've seen photos of this place and it looks magical.  A short 1.5 mile loop hike through a lovely meadow and back to the parking lot.  A few people were on the train enjoying the beauty of this space.  I met a couple who had been displaced from their home in Redding due to the Carr fire.  They had been away from home for 11 days by this point and had no idea what was going on with their home.  They were adventuring on the mountain to get away from the smoke, which was a common theme for many I met on the trail.

Last hike at Plutos cave was shorter than the other two, but still lovely.  Was a bit of a drive to get to it through rough dirt roads, thankfully my little Kia handled it like a champ.  I will say one warning though, traveling out there be aware that people do live there and some have dogs.  On one of the roads I was told to take by Maps, my car was attacked by two dogs (they were trying to chew my tires as I was driving by).  No damage, but Advise not taking Jennie Rd, instead take Yellow Butte Rd to White Drive to avoid these dogs as they did not respond to me honking my horn or yelling at them.  Alternatively taking the route in from 99-97 cutoff on a road called 43N30 may be better.  I did not take any photos of Plutos cave, but it was interesting.  The oldest Lava tube in the US at 190,000 years old.  It lasted so long due to the fact the area is so arid.  The cave has been tagged by locals and smells of bat guano.  Also be aware of the velvet ants in the area.  I came across a couple yellow velvet ants (not really ants, but wingless wasps with super painful stings).

The next day was a trip off to my next site in Gold Hill OR.  I stopped at Caldera Brewery for lunch and had BBQ Cricket Pizza (yes I chose to eat bugs).  Was quite tasty and enjoyed the stay.  The area was quite smokey due to the Klondike and Taylor fires burning north west of the city.  The camp site I was at was lovely.  My host was super sweet and gave me eggs from her hens she keeps.  They were amazing for breakfast the next day.  I got to visit her neighbors new baby goats and went with a little walk with her.  I wish I had stayed a night longer here as the property was lovely and she was an awesome host.

Third site located in the area of Seal Rock OR was remote and beautiful.  Not too far from the town of Newport which I spent a day in on Wednesday getting lunch at Rogue Brewery (fish and chips, with Honey Kolsch), doing laundry and picking up supplies to take to the festival for my friend and I.  Originally I had wanted to go to the aquarium, but time did not permit.  Wednesday evening it rained lightly all night which was amazing along with the sound of the babbling brook that was near my tent.  I also had a visit from a deer.  It stopped close enough to my tent I could hear it breathing.  Was a lovely reminder how remote I was.

Next post will be about the festival and return trip.

Hope you are enjoying the recap!