…or at least the cascades of the creek. Went for a hike to shoot the famous Kings Creek falls in Lassen Volcanic Park, and ended up taking a fall myself.
Worth it.
A renewed Burney Falls
Well, not a renewal of the falls itself, instead the trail down to the falls has been massively redesigned and improved. But first, here’s the famous falls in action:
Sure, you’ve seen that view before. This year, it’s really flowing strongly due to our recent fairly normal wet winter. Well, heavy winter rainfall used to be normal. No matter what, the water you see here flows from an underground aquifer. Not far upstream from the falls, the creek bed is nearly dry.
Here’s your first glimpse of the beauty as you approach:
A couple more shots:
The new trail work is amazing. It looks really authentic, and is in keeping with the forestry style. It’s like something from Yosemite or Yellowstone. It also looks like it’s always been there. If you’ve been there in the recent past, you may recall when the trail was more of a “suggestion.” Cutting corners and scrambling over loose rocks invited the adventurous and foolish city folk to injury. Not great for a park with as many tourists as this one attracted. Yes, the trail is cleaned up and well defined (with handrails!). More civilized, but, still in keeping with the woodsy ethos. I say it’s a big improvement.
There are still more rustic trails:
We camped in the Rim Trail campground. It was lovely, quiet and serene.
No hook-ups. No electricity. No wi-fi. No cell service. At first it was bit of withdrawal for me, I’m sad to admit. Then, it became a sublime respite. An unexpected break with a positive impact. Highly recommended. But good luck to you getting here. We are told the campground is fully booked for the summer of 2025, and they start reservations 6 months in advance. But there we are. Just like Yosemite, etc. park popularity comes with a downside.
A few more images:
Burney Falls State Park is located about an hour’s drive east of Redding on highway 299E. In so many ways, it’s ReallyRedding.
Keswick Dam at high flow – Sacramento River
Weather West Blog
If you have managed to stumble on this blog, you might also be interested in Redding Weather. Redding weather is inextricably entwined with the weather all around us. And water issues as well. Of course, you can get current weather info in all sorts of media. But Weather West is where you can find more in-depth and detailed weather information for Northern California and beyond. Weather West is run by a climate scientist named Daniel Swain. I first began following him on twitter @weather_west. He has also recently begun a You Tube channel, to which I immediately subscribed. Click on the image below to be taken to his Weather West Blog. Highly recommended and relevant to Redding, and to everyone in California.
Thirsty birds find water in Redding
Given the drought, it has seemed like a decadent pleasure to run our fountain. Especially so during these last several hottest days of Summer. But the local birds surely enjoy it. Local wildlife must be impacted by drought too.
This bird is certainly thirsty.
Redding has it’s share of tough old birds.
We have water. It’s Really Redding.