My Summer Vacation - part 2

With the "lowlands" covered in thick smoke from forest fires, Dave Beedon and I tried to find some clean air (to no avail) at 8,000' on Mt. Shasta

Looking up toward the summit

Driving back down into the Land-of-Little-Visibility

Two days later (after a rain) we had a clear day and decided to climb Black Butte. Dave sits on the foundation of the old lookout at the summit with Mt. Shasta in the background

Getting the Yellowjackets drunk on a mixture of White Port and Gatorade

We start back down the trail into the smoke

Even though Black Butte looks like a single cone from a distance there are numerous smaller peaks surrounding it

Descending the east (Mt. Shasta) side

I pause to give my toes some "breathing room"

Entering the tree line on the north side

Late August snow on Mt. Shasta

Cinder pit at Kegg siding. A loop of track used to circle the hill so railcars could be loaded with ballast

Dave sets out to cross the "desert"