Trip to Shasta

So where I work in Redding there's a window that faces North, and on clear days Shasta is looming about 60 air miles away on the horizon.

Facing south, on the flank of the mountain, is a large gulch, known as Avalanche Gulch, and it's the normal route climbers take to the summit.

So this week I'm looking at Shasta from work, and I notice what looks like a trail down Avalanche Gulch, and at the end of the trail a large black object.  Could it be a large rock or rockfall has just recently broken off and rolled down that slope?

You can't really tell from 60 miles away, so this weekend, while Mrs. CW is in LA, I took off and drove up to get a closer look.  Turns out that it was a large rockfall, and it's not the only one.

The south facing slope of the neighborhood stratovolcano.

There's two distinct gullies or faces here - the closer one with strips of snow, and the second, slightly farther away one with a solid snowpack - that's Avalanche Gulch.  You can barely see the trail of debris going down the center and ending near where rocks start outcropping from the snow.

A closer look

The rockfall is much clearer here.  You can make out the dark pile of debris at the end of the trail where it came to an end on top of the snow.

Plus, it appears there are multiple smaller rockfalls as well. 

Might be a bit dangerous to wander about on that snowfield right now.  In years past, this gulch has been nearly snow free, but not this year.

Misery Hill on the left, the summit front and center. The pointy dark rock on the left is known as "The Thumb."  The red patch of rock on the left margin is the Red Wall, a crumbly ejecta from one of the past eruptions.  Konwakiton Glacier is the big snowfield.

I guess the way the scientists define it, if the snow stays all year and moves downhill, it's a glacier.  Apparently that patch qualifies.

Interesting fact.  The four largest glaciers in California are on Shasta (Bolam, Hotlum, Wintun and Whitney).  The bigger ones are on the other, North and East facing slopes.  

On the way back to I-5, I took forest service roads through the greenery.  I think I found some spots to shoot.  I also ran into a little herd of deer - six - with one fawn from this year.  Here's a little buck in the road that was quite unconcerned with the close proximity of the big Dodge.

The deer were near water, which was coursing down the hillside toward the Sacramento River and ultimately the sea in San Francisco Bay.  It'll be a long trip.  Perfectly clean and cold up here, though. I know because I got out of the Dodge and dunked my thick head in it.

All in all, a nice afternoon drive and confirmation of what I thought I was seeing from way down below in Redding.