Mount Shasta Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Mount Shasta Wilderness is a 38200 acres (154.6 km²) federally designated wilderness area located 5 miles (8 km) east of Mount Shasta City
in northern California
. The US Congress passed the 1984 California Wilderness Act
that set aside the Mount Shasta Wilderness. The US Forest Service is the managing agency as the wilderness is within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
. The area is named for and is dominated by the Mount Shasta
volcano
which reaches a traditionally quoted height of 14162 feet (4,316.6 m) above sea level, but official sources give values ranging from 14104 feet (4,298.9 m) from one USGS project, to 14179 feet (4,321.8 m) via the NOAA. Mount Shasta is one of only two peaks in the state over 14000 feet (4,267.2 m) outside the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The other summit is White Mountain Peak in the Great Basin
of east-central California.
The Wintun Glacier
is located on Mount Shasta and is the lowest-elevation glacier in the state, lying at 9100 feet (2,773.7 m) elevation and extending to the summit.
The smaller volcanic cone of Shastina
(12,270 ft) 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 roaded
in the past. Although less than half of the mountain remains roadless, Mount Shasta Wilderness is still the premier destination for a variety of activities from mountaineering
, 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
, waterfall
s and forests of Shasta red fir, sugar pine
and other conifers.
of 17 miles (27.4 km), Mount Shasta can create it own weather
patterns which hikers must be aware of. Also, falling rocks are a major danger above timberline
. 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 of ice axe
and crampons. There are four major glaciers and three smaller glaciers radiating from the summit in addition to lava flows on the northern flank composed of andesite
and basalt
.
A parking permit is required as well as a free wilderness permit and, if attempting a hike above 10000 feet (3,048 m), a Summit Pass for each climber must be purchased. Human waste must be packed out, and all principles of Leave No Trace
etiquette employed. Some restrictions include no dogs in the wilderness, a limit of 10 people in a group and no wood campfires.
, sugar pine
, incense cedar and at higher elevations, western white pine
. The lava flows on the northeast flank have mountain mahogany and juniper
. Underbrush consists of pinemat manzanita
, greenleaf manzanita, tanoak, chinquapin
, and snowbrush. From 8000 feet (2,438.4 m) to timberline are krummholz
forms of whitebark pine
.
Wildlife include the ubiquitous black bear
, coyote, ground squirrel, deer, Golden eagle
s, prairie falcon
s and red-tail hawks.
Common wildflowers are Shasta 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
), Siskiyou Indian paintbrush
(Castilleja miniata ssp. elata) and Shasta owl's clover
(Orthocarpus pachystachyus). The Siskiyou Indian paintbrush is hemiparasitic, meaning that the plant obtains water and nutrients from the roots of other plants, then manufactures food by photosynthesis. The Shasta owl's clover
(Orthocarpus pachystachyus) of the Scrophulariaceae family is critically imperiled and was believed to be extinct. First described in 1848 by Harvard University
botanist Asa 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 the University of California, Berkeley, rediscovered the evasive plant on the higher, drier ground of a sagebrush
-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.
maintains a private 720 acres (2.9 km²) parcel called Horse 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 from Siskiyou County schools.
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.
Mount Shasta, California
Mount Shasta is a city in Siskiyou County, California, located at around 3,600 ft on the flanks of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark. The city is less than southwest of the summit of its namesake volcano...
in northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The US Congress passed the 1984 California Wilderness Act
California Wilderness Act of 1984
The California Wilderness Act of 1984 is a federal law , passed by the United States Congress on September 28, 1984, that authorized the addition of over within the state of California to the National Wilderness Preservation System....
that set aside the Mount Shasta Wilderness. The US Forest Service is the managing agency as the wilderness is within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
The Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a federally designated forest in northern California, USA. It is the largest National Forest in California and is managed by the United States Forest Service. The 2.2-million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and of...
. The area is named for and is dominated by the Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and at is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California...
volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
which reaches a traditionally quoted height of 14162 feet (4,316.6 m) above sea level, but official sources give values ranging from 14104 feet (4,298.9 m) from one USGS project, to 14179 feet (4,321.8 m) via the NOAA. Mount Shasta is one of only two peaks in the state over 14000 feet (4,267.2 m) outside the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. The other summit is White Mountain Peak in the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
of east-central California.
The Wintun Glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
is located on Mount Shasta and is the lowest-elevation glacier in the state, lying at 9100 feet (2,773.7 m) elevation and extending to the summit.
The smaller volcanic cone of Shastina
Shastina
Shastina is the highest satellite cone of Mount Shasta, and one of four overlapping volcanic cones which together form the most voluminous stratovolcano in the Cascade Range. At , Shastina is taller than Mount Adams and would rank as the third highest volcano in the Cascades behind Mount Rainier...
(12,270 ft) 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 roaded
in the past. Although less than half of the mountain remains roadless, Mount Shasta Wilderness is still the premier destination for a variety of activities from mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, 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
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
flows, hot springs
Hot Springs
Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...
, waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s and forests of Shasta red fir, sugar pine
Sugar Pine
Pinus lambertiana, commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine, is the tallest and most massive pine, with the longest cones of any conifer...
and other conifers.
Recreation
Being a high, solitary and very large mountain with a base diameterDiameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
of 17 miles (27.4 km), Mount Shasta can create it own weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
patterns which hikers must be aware of. Also, falling rocks are a major danger above timberline
Timberline
Timberline or timber line has several meanings:* Tree line, the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing* Timberline Lodge, a National Historic Landmark mountain lodge and ski area in Oregon, U.S....
. 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 of ice axe
Ice axe
An ice axe, is a multi-purpose ice and snow tool used by mountaineers both in the ascent and descent of routes which involve frozen conditions. It can be held and employed in a number of different ways, depending on the terrain encountered...
and crampons. There are four major glaciers and three smaller glaciers radiating from the summit in addition to lava flows on the northern flank composed of andesite
Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...
and basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
.
A parking permit is required as well as a free wilderness permit and, if attempting a hike above 10000 feet (3,048 m), a Summit Pass for each climber must be purchased. Human waste must be packed out, and all principles of Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace is both a set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or...
etiquette employed. Some restrictions include no dogs in the wilderness, a limit of 10 people in a group and no wood campfires.
Flora and fauna
Forested areas include pure stands of red fir as well as mixed conifer forests of white fir, Douglas-firDouglas-fir
Douglas-fir is one of the English common names for evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. Other common names include Douglas tree, and Oregon pine. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia...
, sugar pine
Sugar Pine
Pinus lambertiana, commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine, is the tallest and most massive pine, with the longest cones of any conifer...
, incense cedar and at higher elevations, western white pine
Western White Pine
Western White Pine, Pinus monticola in the family Pinaceae, is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Range, and the northern Rocky Mountains. The tree extends down to sea level in many...
. The lava flows on the northeast flank have mountain mahogany and juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
. Underbrush consists of pinemat manzanita
Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia, Washington to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and...
, greenleaf manzanita, tanoak, chinquapin
Chinquapin
-Plants:* Chinquapin or chinkapin, any of the shrubs in the genus Castanopsis* Chinquapin or chinkapin, any of the several trees and shrubs in the genus Chrysolepis* Chinquapin or chinkapin, some of the species in the chestnut genus Castanea...
, and snowbrush. From 8000 feet (2,438.4 m) to timberline are krummholz
Krummholz
Krummholz or Krumholtz formation — also called Knieholz — is a particular feature of subarctic and subalpine tree line landscapes. Continual exposure to fierce, freezing winds causes vegetation to become stunted and deformed...
forms of whitebark pine
Whitebark Pine
Pinus albicaulis, known commonly as Whitebark Pine, Pitch Pine, Scrub Pine, and Creeping Pine occurs in the mountains of the Western United States and Canada, specifically the subalpine areas of the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Pacific Coast Ranges, and the northern Rocky Mountains –...
.
Wildlife include the ubiquitous black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, coyote, ground squirrel, deer, Golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s, prairie falcon
Prairie Falcon
The Prairie Falcon is a medium-sized falcon of western North America.It is about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm , wingspan of 1 metre , and weight of 720 g...
s and red-tail hawks.
Common wildflowers are Shasta 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
Arnica viscosa
Arnica viscosa is an uncommon species of arnica known by the common name Mount Shasta arnica. It is native to the Klamath Mountains and surrounding ranges in northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in subalpine to alpine climates. It is a perennial herb usually producing one or more...
), Siskiyou Indian paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush
Indian Paintbrush most often refers to:* Castilleja spp.Indian Paintbrush may also refer to:* Butterfly weed* Hawkweed* Steven Rales' production company, whose productions include The Darjeeling Limited, Towelhead and Fantastic Mr. Fox...
(Castilleja miniata ssp. elata) and Shasta owl's clover
Owl's clover
Owl's clover may refer to plants in several closely related genera:*Castilleja*Orthocarpus*Triphysaria...
(Orthocarpus pachystachyus). The Siskiyou Indian paintbrush is hemiparasitic, meaning that the plant obtains water and nutrients from the roots of other plants, then manufactures food by photosynthesis. The Shasta owl's clover
Orthocarpus pachystachyus
Orthocarpus pachystachyus is a rare species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name Shasta owl's clover. It is endemic to central Siskiyou County, California, where it is so rarely seen it was thought to be extinct until 1996, when eight individuals were located...
(Orthocarpus pachystachyus) of the Scrophulariaceae family is critically imperiled and was believed to be extinct. First described in 1848 by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
botanist Asa Gray
Asa Gray
-References:*Asa Gray. Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928–1936.*Asa Gray. Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed. 17 Vols. Gale Research, 1998.*Asa Gray. Plant Sciences. 4 vols. Macmillan Reference USA, 2001....
, 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 the University of California, Berkeley, rediscovered the evasive plant on the higher, drier ground of a sagebrush
Sagebrush (plant)
Sagebrush is the common name for Artemisia tridentata and a number of other species of shrubby plants in the genus Artemisia, native to the North American west and other parts of the world. It is sometimes confused with sage plants ....
-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.
Sierra Club camp
The Sierra ClubSierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
maintains a private 720 acres (2.9 km²) parcel called Horse Camp
Horse Camp
Horse Camp is a property on Mount Shasta owned by the nonprofit Sierra Club Foundation. It is a enclave within the Mount Shasta Wilderness of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest...
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 from Siskiyou County schools.
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.