Castle Shore Trail

The weather in town has been very warm, like I want to turn on the air conditioner warm. So I thought we would try to reach Castle Lake again. We had planned to hike this trail just six short weeks ago but were met with walls of snow and a closed road. Today the road was completely clear, so we were able to drive right up to the lake.

Before I tell you about the trail and the lake, let me tell you about the drive. Oh. My. GOSH. The entire drive allows you to meander through a gorgeous pine forest. Trees and bushes and blooming flowers greet you around every twist and turn. It's the kind of drive where we were thankful that there was no one behind us so I could just pop Sapphire, my trusty Jetta, into second gear and tiptoe up the mountain. And, just before you reach the parking lot, you arrive at a crest where you can peer over the top of the pine forest and see eye to eye with Mount Shasta. Hello Queen!

Okay, so let me set the stage...we arrived at the trail around 8 am (it was a Sunday, people, I wanted to sleep in a little). It was early enough that the air was still cool and there were not many people out, but late enough that we were able to bask in the sun when we stepped out of the shade. The trail is really well marked, and the beginning is wide open and a little rocky. We walked around a little pool of water and through a rocky opening when a tiny little snake scared the shit out of me. That little bugger was slithering sideways. SIDEWAYS!! Fortunately, it was moving away from the trail. So, after I jumped a few feet, we stood where we were, took in our surroundings, and waited to see if the people in the parking lot were coming our way. No such luck.

Pushing my fears aside, we continued on, keeping an eye out for more slithering friends, and I'm glad we did. I have always marveled at photos where the mountain view is reflected on the water. Today, we could marvel at the real thing. The surface of the water was really interesting. The edges were completely still, like glass, even stagnant in some areas with algae floating on the surface, while the center was covered in tiny little ripples.

Even though the lake was dark, the water was so clear that we could see the bottom for several feet, prompting us to stop and look to see if there were any fish. At the time, I didn't know if there were any fish in the lake, because I'm sure it freezes in the winter. But you know I came home and did some research. Turns out this lake is inside a "granite bowl" that is 120' deep, and is home to Rainbow, Brook, and Brown Trout as well as some minnows. I guess all of those fish were still sleeping when we were there, because we didn't see any of them swimming around.

As we continued down the path, I was surprised to see how close we were to the lake. There were several places where the trail curved and I nearly stepped in the water while looking up at the mountain. I'm so used to lakeshores being covered in sand that it was really interesting to see the trees growing on the shore. Many trees were growing right out of the water, and a few had fallen in and were resting on the bottom. The fish were probably hiding underneath those trees. Hmmm...

After walking in the shade of the trees, we headed away from the water and up a small incline. The vegetation was completely different with low-lying bushes and very few trees. There were several types of flowers showing off their colorful blooms in the sunshine and a clear view of the mountain behind us. As we headed down the other side of the hill toward the rocky wall at the end of the lake, the trail had many more sunny spots, and the low-lying bushes were more dense and the trail became rocky once again. We took advantage of every off-shoot that led us toward the water, and that's when we met our second little friend slithering along the rocks, just inches away from the water. This time I didn't jump, but I did decide that it was time to turn around head in the other direction.

I know, I say it every time, but I love an out-and-back trail. What caught my eye on the way back was the ground. It was like artwork. There were some places where we had to walk over rocks, and others where there was a completely bare path disappearing into the green of the forest, and still others where the roots of the trees intertwined creating a labyrinth below our feet. It was really gorgeous.

Even though we startled a couple of sunbathing snakes on this hike, that didn't stop me from finding a big rock on the shady shore and copping a squat (Pretty Woman, anyone?). I just had to take a few moments to soak it all in. This beautiful lake at the top of a mountain nestled right under a wall of granite that jutted hundreds of feet above the water was spectacular. As I sat there, I could hear a trickling sound coming from somewhere on the opposite shore. It was clear that the water was flowing toward the granite wall, which made me wonder if there was a waterfall that I was missing. I guess that just means I'll have to come back again and explore the other side of the lake.