Camping on Volcanoes in the Snow Part 2

Mount Shasta

With so much snow in the Cascades I couldn't explore further. I headed south. My next stop was Mount Shasta. I entered the Shasta Wilderness. Mount Shasta is a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1786. I marveled at the rugged immensity of the mountain. Like the Cascades and Sierras, it too was covered by snow. Too much snow for me to climb. I camped in the Shasta wilderness at the base of the volcano. One day I promised myself, I would climb this mountain.

Castle Crags

I traveled through Dunsmire and down to another California State park, Castle Crags. A trail shoots off from then Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and heads through the park and up to the top of Castle Crags. The view from the top was spectacular. It was a short detour and then on towards the small town of Burney, California. Just outside town was Burney Falls, a state park along the PCT.

Burney Falls I had lost track of days and just enjoyed my exploration. When I reached the falls everyone was walking along the one mile loop enjoying the view of the falls. Usually when I say hello to people they stop and chat for a moment. To my surprise they just grunted "hi" and moved on. I saw fellow backpackers coming off the PCT and they avoided people. That is except for me. I chatted with a couple then decided to take the trail up to the PCT, along the top of the falls and a few miles later back down.

Along the way backpackers came up and chatted with me. No surprise there. Backpacking for days can get lonely but why didn't they chat with the tourists? When I got back to the tourist area people ignored me and a service dog growled at me. I was perplexed but ignored it.

Burney Falls had backpacker services. I decided to use them. It's amazing how good a hot shower feels after being camped in the snow for days. As I got my things together for the shower I looked in the mirror. A homeless man who just crawled out from under a freeway overpass, stared back at me. I wouldn't talk to someone that looked like me either! After getting cleaned up people talked to me again. I guess first impressions are important.