| Mount Shasta Wilderness | |
|---|---|
 Mount Shasta | |
  | |
| Location | Siskiyou County,California, United States |
| Nearest city | Mount Shasta City |
| Coordinates | 41°25′08″N122°12′26″W / 41.41889°N 122.20722°W /41.41889; -122.20722 |
| Area | 38,200 acres (155 km2) |
| Established | 1984 |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
TheMount Shasta Wilderness is a 38,200-acre (155 km2) federally designatedwilderness area located 5 miles (8.0 km) east ofMount Shasta City in northernCalifornia. TheUS Congress passed the1984 California Wilderness Act that set aside the Mount Shasta Wilderness. TheUS Forest Service is the managing agency as the wilderness is within theShasta-Trinity National Forest. The area is named for and is dominated by theMount Shastavolcano which reaches a traditionally quoted height of 14,162 feet (4,317 m) above sea level, but official sources give values ranging from 14,104 feet (4,299 m) from oneUSGS project,[1] to 14,179 feet (4,322 m) via theNOAA.[2] Mount Shasta is one of only two peaks in the state over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) outside the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The other summit isWhite Mountain Peak in theGreat Basin of east-central California.[3]
The WintunGlacier is located on Mount Shasta and is the lowest-elevation glacier in the state, lying at 9,100 feet (2,800 m) elevation and extending to the summit.[4]
The smaller volcanic cone ofShastina (12,270 ft)[5] lies one mile (1.6 km) west of Mount Shasta and was formed after the ice-age glaciers melted.
The wilderness protects both pristine forests and areas that were intensively logged and roadedin the past. Although less than half of the mountain remains roadless, Mount Shasta Wilderness is still the premier destination for a variety of activities frommountaineering, day-hiking, and backpacking to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ski mountaineering. It is valued for the many scenic, geologic and recreational attributes including glaciers,lava flows,hot springs,waterfalls and forests ofShasta red fir,sugar pine and otherconifers.
Being a high, solitary and very large mountain with a basediameter of 17 miles (27 km),[6] Mount Shasta can create its ownweather patterns which hikers must be aware of. Also, falling rocks are a major danger abovetimberline. The best time of year for hiking Mount Shasta is June and July, when routes are still snow-covered. Although there is no designated trail to the summit, many cross-country routes ascend to the mountaintop and all require experience in traversing ice and snow.
There are ten trailheads giving access to the wilderness and several short trails leading up the slopes of Mount Shasta with the so-called Shasta Summit Trail (or Avalanche Gulch) being the most popular. This trail, although the "easiest" of the routes, still requires the use ofice axe andcrampons. There are four major glaciers and three smaller glaciers radiating from the summit in addition to lava flows on the northern flank composed ofandesite andbasalt.
A parking permit is required as well as a free wilderness permit and, if attempting a hike above 10,000 feet (3,000 m), a Summit Pass for each climber must be purchased.[7] Human waste must be packed out, and all principles ofLeave No Trace etiquette employed. Some restrictions include no dogs in the wilderness, a limit of 10 people in a group and no wood campfires.[8]
Forested areas include pure stands of red fir as well as mixed conifer forests of white fir,Douglas-fir,sugar pine, incense cedar and at higher elevations,western white pine. The lava flows on the northeast flank havemountain mahogany andjuniper. Underbrush consists of pinematmanzanita, greenleaf manzanita, tanoak,chinquapin, and snowbrush. From 8,000 feet (2,400 m) to timberline arekrummholz forms ofwhitebark pine.
Wildlife include the ubiquitousblack bear, coyote, ground squirrel, deer,golden eagles,prairie falcons and red-tail hawks.
Common wildflowers areShasta lily, miner's lettuce, showy phlox and mountain violet among others.
Notable rare plants in the Mount Shasta Wilderness and surrounding area include Mt. Shasta arnica (Arnica viscosa), SiskiyouIndian paintbrush (Castilleja miniata ssp.elata) andShasta owl's clover (Orthocarpus pachystachyus). The Siskiyou Indian paintbrush ishemiparasitic, meaning that the plant obtains water and nutrients from the roots of other plants, then manufactures food by photosynthesis. TheShasta owl's clover (Orthocarpus pachystachyus) of the family Scrophulariaceae is critically imperiled and was believed to be extinct. First described in 1848 byHarvard University botanistAsa Gray, the plant was not collected again until 1913. Known only from two reports from the Shasta Valley of northern California, it could not be relocated despite repeated searches of the moist meadows and vernal pools where it was thought originally to have been found. In May, 1996, botanist Dean Taylor of theUniversity of California, Berkeley, rediscovered the evasive plant on the higher, drier ground of asagebrush-covered hillside. But even in this habitat the wildflower appears to be extraordinarily rare. Taylor was able to find only eight individual plants of the owl’s-clover.[9]
TheSierra Club maintains a private 720-acre (2.9 km2) parcel calledHorse Camp within the wilderness.It is used as a base camp for summit attempts, and offers a shelter called the Shasta Alpine Lodge, dedicated in 1923 and built from surrounding volcanic rock and Shasta red fir wood. Horse Camp is staffed during the climbing season from May to September, has a seasonal spring for water and is a traditional destination of many elementary school trips fromSiskiyou County schools.[10]Also at Horse Camp is the half-mile-long Olberman Causeway, a stone walkway built in the 1920s by the first caretaker, Mac Olberman from rocks of the surrounding area.[11]
Adkinson, Ron Wild Northern California. The Globe Pequot Press, 2001ISBN 1-56044-781-8
