Siskiyou County Highpoint Trip Report
Mount Shasta (14,162 ft)
Date: June 8, 2008
Author: Ron Tagliapietra
Kathy Wing and I had a beautiful weekend and the weather could not have been better.
We spent Friday night, June 6, at Castle Crags State Park and paid the
$20 per person fees the next morning at The Fifth Season. We then packed from
Bunny Flat (6950 feet.), leaving about 10 am. We passed Horse Camp (with water
and pit toilets at 7900 feet) at mile 1.8 and 50-50 Camp (at 9400 feet).
We reached Lake Helen (10,400 feet) at mile 3.8 about 4 pm, 6 leisurely hours after
leaving the car. After we watched a helicopter rescue below the Heart, we went
to bed early, hoping to leave at 3:30 am.
We awoke at 3 am and started hiking at 4 am. We passed the Heart, going to the
right side of it. We went directly up the steep crack in the Red Banks (12,800 feet).
Misery Hill was miserable because we always hoped that the false summits
were not false. When we finally saw the summit pinnacles, they looked far away
and way above us but it only took about 20 minutes. We summited at about 10 am,
and spent a good half an hour signing the register, taking photos, and snacking.
Six hours to go 2.2 miles!
Backtracking, we hiked to half way down the Heart and then began glissading.
We glissaded all the way back to Lake Helen, which we reached about 1 pm. After an
hour repacking our stuff, we glissaded to well beyond 50-50 camp. We hiked into
Horse Camp and then to Bunny Flat. We reached the car about 5 pm,
after descending all 7 miles. A good thing, since Kathy had to catch the last flight
(at 10) in Sacramento back to Ontario, California. It was about a 3 hour drive,
but we had to return rental stuff, eat, get gas, repack, and arrive there an
hour before the flight. She caught it!
photos