[TR] Mt Shasta - Clear Creek TH 9/19/2012

[beauvais]

Trip: Mt Shasta - Clear Creek TH

 

Date: 9/19/2012

 

Trip Report:

Start: 5am

Spring: 6:47am

Summit: 2pm

TH: 5:50pm

 

Started up the trail at 5 am and reached the spring at 6:47 am where I watched the sunrise and filled up my camelback and bottles at the beautiful cold spring. Just across the spring I could see the Marsian landscape I was about to enter. A good dusty trail with lots of loose gravel takes you up and over a small ridge. You just keep going up, alternating from loose gravel and nice switchbacking trail. At one stop, I noticed how nothing grows up here, it was just barren. No grass, no pikas, no marmots, birds, or insects in this strange place called Shasta. I learned to keep my mouth shut everytime I turned into the wind. With each turn like that, a little wisp of dust would blow into my mouth. With every step, gray dust would fly. My face eventually turned gray from all the dust coating my sunscreened mug. As I got higher the little breeze blowing got a little stronger when I crossed another small non-descript ridge. Soon another well made switchbacking trail that reminded me of Grays Peak from Colorado took me up to the orange rock that looked like a giant rubber duckie. with the wind blowing maybe up to 40 mph, I put on my wind layer, ate some, and then continued past the rock. Somewhere along the way, I got off trail, heading to the Winton Ridge Route, but I just climbed straight up the talus to the top of the slope to get above the cliff face I have been looking at since I started up this long slope. I regained the trail quickly and once I crested a hill, I saw what I believed to be the summit block. A tall, cliffed out plug towered at least 200' above me. The trail crossed a layer of white rock approaching this and I saw the glacier at the top for the 1st time. I skirted to the left of the summit block and crossed the edge of the glacier. Then took a climb up the talus to the base of a tower, went right around the side and up a class 5? chimney to the top. Not knowing if this was the true summit, I was looking north and started traversing to the next point when I almost tripped over the register. A Large metal box holding a notebook, not what I was looking for since I was used to the cylinder types on Colorado 14ers. So it was now 2 pm, and I was hoping to get here before 3 to avoid returning in the dark. Once I got past the glacier, I went down the ridge and then plunge stepped the next 5,000 feet down back to the spring. I saw the Konwackiton Glacier for the 1st time and the Winton as I traversed that little ridge. That was the longest and fastest descent I ever had the pleasure of doing. A long almost straight trail to the right of the climbing trail was obvious and easy to follow. I really enjoyed the huge trees along the lower trail, I never realized how big these trees are, since I passed them in the dark earlier. Took me about 45 minutes once I passed the spring to get back to the car and the long drive back to Tracy, CA. It was a 12 hour and 50 min day that I will never forget in my intro to the Cascades.

 

Gear Notes:

Hiking poles; crampons, but did not use them

 

Approach Notes:

Clear Creek TH is easy to get to, take the Hwy 89 exit off I-5 south of Mt Shasta, CA and drive East about 10 miles to McCloud, CA. Once 3 miles past McCloud, turn left on Pilgrim Creek Rd (Rd 31), which is a nice paved road, go 5 miles and turn left on Widow Springs Rd (41N15) and drive 5 miles down this good dirt road. When you get to an angled intersection with McKenzie Butte Rd and a side road (41N61) on the left, take the side road, a large brown sign points the way to Clear Creek. With each intersection you get to, another sign points the way to the TH. This dirt road is in very good condition, I drove a Honda Insight Hybrid with no trouble up this road to the TH.

[trumpetsailor]

Mighty fine. The volcanoes are a special breed.

[beauvais]

I filled up with 164 oz of water, of which I used about 100 oz. Brought along a huge amount of poptarts, 7 PB&J sands, and a dozen and a half of GU. About every hour/hour and half, I would stop and eat 1 sandwich, 1 pack of poptarts and 1 GU. I ate 6 of the sandwiches, and half the GU, but only about a third of the poptarts, I had 12 packs. I just didn't know how much I was going to eat. Sorta unknown territory because most CO 14ers don't have this kind of elevation gain. This kept me moving pretty good, although I don't consider myself a trail burner, I never felt tired even when I got within yards of the summit. On the downclimb I was strong and never had those spaghetti legs. It was pure pleasure going down, much like the scree on the descent of Mt Bross in Colorado!

 

I did a moderate training schedule trying to match or duplicate a 7,000 foot day. I started out with one of my favorite little climbs at Castle Rock, CO. I did 8 laps around a 1 mile loop with 250' of elevation and built up to 26 laps by the end of May. On alternate weekends, I would go do another favorite called Goat Mountain in Jefferson Co., this little peak had 2300' of gain over a tough little ridge that had everything from scrambling to class 4 climbing and some nasty bushwacking in between. By the time early August rolled around, I was doing this mountain 2 times whenever I went out. For some good high altitude, I climbed Quandary, Grays and Torreys, Mt Ouray, N. Maroon and Capital over the summer months. I rode the bike about 24 miles total a week to get the lactic acid build up out, they were all easy rides, just cruising along! 2 weeks before I went out and blasted Goat Mountain in record time and then rode a couple times and did nothing for 10 days. It all seemed to come together well on the big day with a good steady pace. I didn't get that sore except my shoulders from all the poling. Within 2 days I felt good and the soreness was gone. I had 10 hours to get up there, and beat it by an hour, so my training plan was right on for me!

Edited September 28, 2012 by beauvais

[beauvais]

Thanks Dude, maybe next year it will be Mt Hood in June. I see why these peaks are climbed with a good snowpack, the scree can be a problem.

[beauvais]

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Edited October 1, 2012 by beauvais