The climb written about below took four days: Day One: Rent equipment and hike to Horse Camp. Camp there. Day Two: Hike to Helen Lake, and camp there. Day Three: Hike to Summit via Avalanche Gulch, through the Red Banks and up Misery Hill, return to Horse Camp, and camp there. Day Four: Hike out to Bunny Flat. Average times for the distances above are the following. - Bunny Flat to Horse Camp takes a little over an hour. - Horse Camp … [Read more...]
Mt. Shasta, CA – Mt Shasta City
Mt. Shasta City is everything one looks for in a base-of-a-mountain town; it is small, charming and a meeting place for those attracted to this great mountain. It is a collection of those who come to the base of the mountain seeking spiritual guidance, those who come to marvel at its beauty, those who come to try to reach its lofty summit, those passing through on the 5, those who live and work here and those who just want to connect with nature. … [Read more...]
Mt. Shasta, CA – Hotels
The following are select Mt. Shasta City hotel accommodations - most of the town's hotels are located along Mt. Shasta Blvd in the south part of town. Prices are subject to change without notice. All Phone Numbers are in the 530 area code unless otherwise noted. A1 Choice Inn is located at 1340 S. Mt. Shasta Blvd. Family owned and operated - by an elderly couple. Very basic accommodation. All rooms are pet free and are non … [Read more...]
Mt. Shasta, CA – Restaurants
Lily's Mt Shasta, is one of our favorite restaurants in town; we have eaten here numerous times. Located at 1013 S. Mt Shasta Blvd. The breakfast is comparable to Firesign Cafe on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. Lilys serves a very good Eggs Benedict and also a Salmon Omelet. Lilys also serves Lunch, Dinner and they do catering. This restaurant is Dave's "post climb" tradition and will never be missed after coming off the mountain. They are open 7 … [Read more...]
Mt. Shasta, CA – More Info
For information about the Shasta Trinity Forest contact: Shasta Trinity National Forests 3644 Avetech Parkway Redding, Ca 96002 or you can call (530) 226-2500 or visit: www.fs.usda.gov/stnf The Phone Number for the Mt. Shasta Ranger Station is: (530) 926-4511. They are located at 204 West Alma Street. For up to date information about the weather conditions of Mt. Shasta you can call Phone Number (530) 926-5555. An excellent book … [Read more...]
Reno, NV
Long billed as the "biggest little city in the world" - today's population is over 250,000 and the city is somewhat spread out now but for a city of this size, it still perhaps feels bigger then the actual population. Reno is located in the high desert east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains north and slightly east of the great Lake Tahoe. Reno offers numerous non stop gambling opportunities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The city boasts a … [Read more...]
Reno, NV – Attractions
For a town of this size there are a fair number of attractions that are worth seeing. BaseCamp Reno is extremely unique; it is the world's tallest climbing wall (either indoor or outdoor) - in this case it is located outside on the east wall of the Whitney Peak Hotel (tall is a theme here - this hotel is appropriately named for the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states, Mt. Whitney - located in neighboring California). The climbing … [Read more...]
Monterey, CA – Wine Tasting
Monterey wineries often focus on a number of lighter style varietals including their well-known Pinot Noir (especially from the Santa Lucia Highlands - above the Salinas Valley) and Chardonnay. One can find wines made from numerous other varietals. At last count, over 42 unique wine grape varietals were being commercially grown in Monterey County. Rather then dominated by winery tasting rooms, much of Monterey County is dominated by stand … [Read more...]
Palm Springs, CA
The city of Palm Springs quickly conjures up images of swaying palms, amorphous pools, golf courses, the strip, and heat. This is all true; there are many native and non native palm trees, a large plethora of golf courses, good shopping downtown and Palm Springs in the wintertime is often among the warmest areas to visit in the state of California. You can be hiking in the desert canyons nearby and the temperatures can be pushing 80 degrees while … [Read more...]
Palm Springs, CA – Tram Hike
We have visited Palm Springs a number of times in January for the warm wintertime weather. The weather was what we had expected during the day each trip with temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's. In fact the town of Coachella (south of Palm Springs) recorded the nation's high temperature during one of our trips. We were staying with a group of 15 people in a time share condo. The condo was built against the base of a hill, and at night the … [Read more...]