Round two to Summit of Mt. Shasta

​Hiking Mt. Shasta is never a bad idea. It’s one of the easier 14’er in the lower 48 and technically someone could do it 24 hours. I have chosen to make this an overnight trip and camp at Helen Lake at ~10k feet on both occasions, which breaks up the hike and gives you a chance to appreciate the beauty around the Mt. Shasta Wilderness area.
 
This was my second time up the mountain and we managed to summit on both occasions. The days were long and grueling, but not impossible. My first hike up Mt. Shasta was in May 2011, which is a way better time to ski down the mountain. This time, we went up on July 1stweekend, which was a horrible time to ski down. I learned about Sun Cups and how they aren’t exactly skiable haha!

​We hiked the avalanche gulch route, which starts at the Mt. Shasta parking lot at the Bunny Flat Trailhead. This route is ~5.5 miles one way. Be prepared to travel with cash as you will need it for the wilderness permit and summit passes (around $40). Pro Tip – take a photo of the permit and summit passes in case you misplace them (which I always do). Ran into the ranger and talked to him for ages and he was perfectly happy with the phone pictures rather than actual passes. The route first goes through gorgeous meadows and has a very gentle incline till you arrive at Horse Camp (1.75 miles from the trailhead). This is the last place for fresh water. After this, you have to melt snow on the mountain.

​After Horse Camp, the trail gets much more treacherous and steeper with several switchbacks. In early season, you can bypass this entire section and go up the snow fields. Once this snow melts, you have to trek the established route. Another reason to hike this mountain in the snowier conditions (latest June). After several switch backs and some snow fields, we finally got to Helen Lake around 5 PM. Thankfully there was plenty of sunlight to set up camp, cook a meal and tuck in for the night. We were surprised by hold cold it still was at 10,000+ feet. Even though temepratures were north of 80+ on the trailhead. Pro Tip: Take a shovel to shvel out a spot for your tent. Also make a wind barrier using the snow and the rocks to keep your tent from blowing through the night.

​Next morning, we woke up around 4 am. Had a quick snack, got packed and headed to the summit. The conditions were gorgeous. Almost no wind and great visibility. We decided to ditch our skis about 400 feet north of Helen Lake and continue up with much lighter packs. The hike itself was tiring, but the views around Mt. Shasta were worth it. We maintained a good strong pace without much stopping. The red banks (~13,000 feet) are more technical than the rest of the hike. They require steep hiking with an ice axe through a chimney. After you’re through with this, you head to aptly named Misery Hill (~13,800 feet). I recall being really challenged at Misery Hill in the past, but we cruised right through it. There are a couple spots to swap crampons on the windblown section in the summer, so that always takes a bit of time at altitude. Finally, we got to the plateau and the rocky summit section that takes you to the top. This was a bit tricky (again, easier in the early summer time) and we made it to the summit! The views were stunning and again the weather was awesome.

After summiting, we walked back down to Misery Hill and glissaded all the way down to our skis. The little snow we skiid was awful and even though I am an experienced skier, I fell on my face a couple times. Ya… not fun. But an adventure nonetheless! We packed our gear and head back towards the car with the skis loaded on our packs. The way down was wayyyy harder than the way up with skis banging up against our backs. 
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We still had a total blast – it was a gorgeous day to summit with minimal wind and sunny skies. Almost too sunny to be honest. The hike down through the slushy snow cups was a bit treacherous, but classic type 2 fun. 
 
We ended up dropping our skis on the approach from Helen Lake to the summit because the snow didn’t look very skiable. The skis were insanely heavy and both Justin and I were worried it would prevent our summit chances. It ended up being a good decision because the snow cups were all the way to the top of the mountain and snow wasn’t awesome. We ended up glissading most of the way down – this was so much fun!!! Once we got back to our skis, we decided to ski down to the campsite and quickly realized we won’t be doing much more skiing that day. The snow conditions were really bad.
 
The route is straightforward with plenty of markers, the hike itself is hard but not impossible. Overall - great California adventure with stunning views and lifelong memories!

​Here’s the breakdown of the route:
 

1. Start at Bunny Flat trail head: ~7500 Feet
2. Follow markers to Horse Camp and Fill water at Horse Camp: ~8500 feet, 2 miles
3. Make your way up to Helen Lake and camp for the night: ~10,300 feet, 
4. Early morning ~ 3 AM wake and head towards Red Banks. Top of Red banks: ~13000 feet
5. Red banks to top of Misery Hill: ~ 13,800 feet
6. Misery Hill to Summit: ~ 14,180 feet

 
Hope you guys have a blast up Shasta!