Denise, Dan, Laura, Laura's friend Danielle, and Danielle's mother arrived on June 24. Laura and Danielle immediately checked into the Jazz Choir and Dance camp held at the College of the Siskiyous in Weed. Danielle's mother left for Redding to spend a relaxing night before returning to the Bay Area. Denise, Dan and I (Wes) took a pleasant walk to the end of Hill Road -- new colts; friendly dog; sweet smelling flowers; views of Mount Shasta. While we were gone, Jennie fixed a tasty supper that we ate on the patio.
The next day, June 25, because it was cloudy and cool, Denise, Dan and I decided it would be a good day to try climbing to the 6,358 foot summit of Black Butte or as officially known, Muir's Peak. Denise had read an article in which the author noted this was one of his favorite hikes. We departed after lunch and with directions from the ranger station found our way to the well hidden trail head. There were dramatic views of Mount Shasta from the conifer fringed lower section of the trail and the incline was easy. Not long after that the overcast clouds began to lower and the trail grew steeper and we left the trees behind. The trail makes a long curving assent around the north and west sides of the 5-part plug dome that is Black Butte. Then it turns back east up a canyon between two of the eroded domes.
At this point the route is something less than a trail as it crosses a jumble of unstable rocks varying is size from footballs to file cabinets. Each step had to be carefully considered to avoid an injurious fall . After a slow negotiation of this long steep stretch the route to the summit turned to the south and then switched backed back and forth on its narrow precarious way to the summit. There were moments when each of us asked the other two, "Do you want to go on?" The responses were unenthusiastic, but never a flat no. So, we kept creeping upward and then made the last all fours scramble to the summit. By then the clouds were nearly on our heads, the wind was blowing and soon after we reached the top, it started to rain. We took quick snap shots of each other and hastened to make the tricky decent back over the tippy rocks made even more treacherous by the rain. It was a relief to reach the lower, more trail-like section of the route where we could savor the exciting satisfaction of what we'd accomplished. The round trip had taken us one minute less than 4 hours. None of us will ever look at Black Butte in the same way we had before the climb.
That evening we relaxed and watched the video of "Brother Where Art Thou?"
On the 26th we (Jennie, Denise, Dan, and I) drove to Redding in the pouring rain. Jennie had a doctor appointment. We ate lunch at our favorite place, Pasta Pronto, then all went shopping. Back home the video for the evening was, "You Can Count on Me." It was a cold, blustery, rainy night and Laura, Danielle, and the other music campers were scheduled to bus to Ashland for Shakespeare in the outdoor Elizabethan theater. What an awful night for that.
The next day we just stayed in out of the rain. Denise and I fooled around with the computer including listening to cuts from the Jack Kerouac CD that Denise had given me. We visited a pair of young German Shepards. Late in the day we caught a glimpse of Mount Shasta cloaked in a fresh covering of snow. Another video ended the day, "Cast Away."
On the 28th some of Jennie's quilting buddies came for lunch and a chance for them to meet Denise and visa versa. With a snow-covered Mount Shasta over our shoulders, Dan and I went off on an adventure. We stopped in Weed at the Hi Lo Cafe. The food and conversation was good. We covered topics from Mount Shasta geology to UFO's. Our adventure destination was a lava tube cave a little north of highway 97 and right of county A12. We explored as far in as was comfortable with only our two flashlights to guide us. Since the lava tube has no name we dubbed it Daniel's cave. A little further north and to the left of county A12 is Pluto cave. Though named and more difficult to get to, it really is not as interesting as Daniel's cave.
Dan and I returned home, Denise and Jennie were ready for an outdoor adventure, so we decided to drive up the canyon of the south fork of the Sacramento river to Gumboot lake. The drive along the rushing creek is beautiful and the lake is in a peaceful setting. Denise, Dan and I walked to the far side of the lake to see a bed of the rare California pitcher plant. On our way back Jennie shouted across the lake that there was a bald eagle at the top of a tall pine near us. Sure enough, there he was. Magnificent! As we got near the base of the tree, he launched himself and soared across the lake. Back with Jennie we all sat at the lake's edge and watched the eagle with binoculars. The drive back capped a most enjoyable, adventurous, and memorable day.
On the 29th, Denise, Dan and I drove to Yreka with a side trip to see the quaint Little Shasta Church. It's located in an out of the way corner of the county a few miles east of Montague the tiny town that time forgot. In Yreka we had a hearty lunch at "Grandma's",viewed the gold display at the court house and took a swing through the Victorian historic district. We returned home on old highway 99 a relaxing route with great views of Mount Shasta and an occasional hawk. When we got home Denise and I mowed the lawn. The evening's video was "Finding Forester."
Saturday the 30th was the day of the Jazz music camp performance. Tom arrived to go with us to the lunch for campers, family and friends prior to the concert. The performance was amazing. This assembly of over 100 kids ranging in age from 12 to 18 put on a most professional show, rendering more than a dozen choreographed numbers that they had learned in a single week. It was an impressive accomplishment.
We returned home for a brief rest and then were off up Old Stage road to attend a 40th birthday party for Heika, who Jennie and I had worked with at the Care Center. All seemed to enjoy the party and good food.
Sunday, July 1 we all spent a beautiful, warm afternoon on the beach and in the water of Lake Siskiyou. This was especially for our swimmer, Tom, but all had a splashing good time. Earlier in the day we had toured the street fair down town and Danielle fell in love with a little black kitten at the humane society booth. She called her parents to see if she could bring it home and got the okay. We had a nice burger and trout supper on the patio -- a real summer evening for a change.
On the 2nd, after breakfast, Denise, Tom, Jennie and I squeezed in one last mountain experience with a walk through Upper Panther Meadow. As always it was a refreshing and beautiful alpine experience. Back home it was time for these visitors to pack up and depart for Pacifica. Our next visitor, my old pal Charles Schimmel arrived just before Denise, Tom, Dan, Laura, and Danielle departed, so he had a chance to at least say hello and good bye. It had been a most pleasant and varied visit, filled with many pleasant, even thrilling experiences.
Photos of the visit:
