This is the fifth of a series of posts detailing hikes and walks I undertook in the course of a road trip in July 2016 that spanned 9 days and 3 states: CA, OR and NV (the last very transiently).
Date: July 5, 2016
Location: Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, CA
On July 4, I headed out from Crater Lake NP, and drove back along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway to the town of Mt. Shasta where I intended to stay the next 2 nights. While it was a lovely drive, I did no hiking or much walking that day. The very next morning however, I was up and about early and drove to the Castle Lake Trailhead for what turned out to be a hike much more scenic than I had expected!
Since I arrived relatively early (~9:00 a.m.), there were only a few folks around. It took me a while to find the trail to Heart Lake itself...a few minutes more, and I would likely have given up! The trail gradually ascended through the trees, Castle Lake becoming smaller and more distant. Given the time of day and the elevation, it was refreshingly cool, thus allaying my concerns that the hike would be made toilsome by heat (the previous day, Mt. Shasta had been quite hot). After a while, I was the only hiker on the trail as other early visitors were mostly staying around Castle Lake itself.
After about 20-25 minutes, the trail emerged out of the trees to a rock-strewn slope with pretty shrubbery. There were several rocky ledges here, making for excellent viewpoints and resting places.
Around this time, I saw some other hikers again: a solitary hiker arrived after me and headed in the direction of Little Castle Lake, another small lake in the vicinity. Then a pair of hiker arrived and continued on in the same direction I was heading. After some idling, I headed that way as well. Finally, Heart Lake came into view, and what a lovely tiny alpine lake it is!
Date: July 5, 2016
Location: Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Siskiyou County, CA
On July 4, I headed out from Crater Lake NP, and drove back along the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway to the town of Mt. Shasta where I intended to stay the next 2 nights. While it was a lovely drive, I did no hiking or much walking that day. The very next morning however, I was up and about early and drove to the Castle Lake Trailhead for what turned out to be a hike much more scenic than I had expected!
Since I arrived relatively early (~9:00 a.m.), there were only a few folks around. It took me a while to find the trail to Heart Lake itself...a few minutes more, and I would likely have given up! The trail gradually ascended through the trees, Castle Lake becoming smaller and more distant. Given the time of day and the elevation, it was refreshingly cool, thus allaying my concerns that the hike would be made toilsome by heat (the previous day, Mt. Shasta had been quite hot). After a while, I was the only hiker on the trail as other early visitors were mostly staying around Castle Lake itself.
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| Castle Lake in the morning as I arrived at the trailhead |
After about 20-25 minutes, the trail emerged out of the trees to a rock-strewn slope with pretty shrubbery. There were several rocky ledges here, making for excellent viewpoints and resting places.
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| The trail emerges out of the trees |
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| There were some lovely rock ledges here where I whiled away some time |
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| Approaching Heart Lake |
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| Heart Lake - aptly named indeed! |
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| What a lovely view! |
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| Mt. Shasta close-up |
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| View from an outcrop next to Heart Lake: Black Butte, Mt Shasta and Castle Lake are seen |
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| To the left of this view are the crags towards which I headed (or rather scrambled :)) next |
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| Lovely view from crags above Heart Lake: Black Butte, Mt Shasta and Castle Lake are seen |
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| View to the other side |
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| Vistas everywhere... |
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| More views on the way back |
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| A steady stream of hikers now makes it way up the crags where I had enjoyed solitude a while back (click on photo on enlarge) |
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| Pretty flowers, aren't they? |
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