lol, I tried to post this June 10, but never hit Publish evidently. So here is a sunset shot from last summer.
According to my insider sources, Lake Shasta is as full as it will be for 2019, right now.
While it will be a terrific year for boating, longtime lakers know that the early summer will be filled with driftwood at the launches, and scattered randomly throughout. Especially after the Delta Fire. Boat with caution. But, do boat. It’s going to be an epic lake year!
Striking mountain bike video of the trails west of Redding, post Carr Fire. These riders and their coolest-ever dog, show what it looks like as the fire recovery begins. Green grass, flowers, and twisted burned manzanita.
Looks like you can still have some free fun shredding it in the west hills. It doesn’t look the same as it once did, obviously. But the recovery is underway. Out on the trail with your dog, that’s Really Redding.
Redding is blessed by an abundance of fresh water.
“Freshwater makes up a very small fraction of all water on the planet. While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean-based. Even then, just 1 percent of our freshwater is easily accessible, with much of it trapped in glaciers and snowfields.” National Geographic
“Trapped in glaciers and snowfields” for a while, anyway. The snow you see here gracing Mt Shasta will mostly melt away this summer.
We are having an exceptional rain year. I feared we would see mudslides and worse, similar to what Santa Barbara experienced in the winter after their last big fire. So far, so good.
The floodgates of Shasta Dam are not often opened. Check it out, while you can. It’s ReallyRedding.
The Carr fire of 2018 wounded Redding badly. A few local citizens hired a local film studio named speropictures to create something about special about it, and it is quite amazing. The live event premiere of the short seems to have been taken down. But here is a trailer for what may be a monger version.
It reveals a lot about Redding. We all learned more about ourselves and our community during and after the fire.
For me personally, watching the short film brought back some of the PTSD like feelings surrounding the evacuation. My home did not burn, but the beast burned homes on the next ridge over from us. I’ve no idea why it stopped there. I saw and heard the fire tornado firsthand. Nothing could stop it.
I was pleased to see my name in the credits, although I had nearly nothing to do with the production. They used a brief video clip from the video of the fire tornado I shot before fleeing for my life.
Unseasonably warm November weather helped me decide to shoot a timelapse of the Sacramento River at the rail trestle. It wasn’t a super spectacular sunset, but it was very pretty nonetheless.
Over the course of shooting, I was surprised to see a great many fish leaping out of the water. I guess I never watched the river at sunset for a 20 minute stretch before. It was really pleasant.
Timelapse of the sky and lake taken 1/26/2018 from the Shasta Dam overlook.
It was a beautiful day. Watch full screen.
With perfect Fall weather, we and the dog spent the day hiking around the 3 waterfalls of the McCloud River you can reach easily from Highway 89.
Upper Falls:
Middle Falls:
Lower Falls:
Just over an hour’s drive north from Redding, this beautiful stretch of river is an easy and dog friendly day hike. Not even a fee to park. The McCloud River begins on the slopes of Mt Shasta, and terminates at Lake Shasta. It’s a true place of wonder.
Is it Shasta Lake, or Lake Shasta? Anyway, here’s a nice looking commercial map of Lake Shasta. Click to enlarge.
Redding is a resort town, although we often seem to forget that. This map makes it clear. You can get a pdf of it to print at:
http://www.northstate.news/
Northstate news also publishes several local newspapers and magazines to which you may subscribe, including Shasta Lake Bulletin, Intermountain News, and After 5.
