Snow above 7000 feet

 We made it to Shasta last night and the photo above is out of sequence from lunch today at the base of the wide bowl of Panther Meadows. The photo below is from 7000 feet, from Bunny Flats. The lot was full of people and cars... many from Washington and Oregon. Apparently these snow chasers couldn't find much of what they craved north of here either. There's been a lot of rain up there but not much snow.

 We just went up the road this morning. It was icy in the tree shadows and pocked with snowmobile and other tracks. The day was bright and warm but the air was sweet and it felt complete to be toiling along on the uphill and just gliding along on the down.

 I was reminded of two days before when I'd gotten into a heated discussion about Sierra Pacific Industries clear cutting with an SPI patrol guy who was kicking us out from where we were already leaving from our over night camping spot. The old growth trees, especially the gnarly old ones near the edge of tree line, are always such characters. I can't help but wonder what this summer will bring to the forests, both wild and "even aged" tree farms that are passing more and more as "forests."

 The snow locked into the freeze-melt cycle up here where the nights still freeze is really one of the last reserves California has for surface water in Shasta Dam and the Sacramento and the Delta and many points south. The mountain stands so silently and so immutably above all the concerns we have about drought.

 On the ski down Michael insisted on a photo of me. Ok. Now there is a photo of me too. It's too bad I missed his poetically beautiful telemark turns through the trees.
It was a long drive back down to Chico from Mt. Shasta. Michael processed 35 gallons of veggie oil to make the trip possible and drove the entire way. Now tomorrow it is back to the indoor veg out of chemo. I wish I could bottle the air from Shasta to infuse all of our days.