Day Two: Castle Crags

When I was a. young child, I was in awe of Castle Crags. We passed it coming and going every year on the way to Redding to spend Thanksgiving with my Grandmother and I once overheard my mother call the area the Devils Castle.

I passed the Castle again, coming and going, every summer when I went to live with my Grandmother.  I always thought it did look kind of scary, certainly formidable.

Turns out the crags were regarded with awe and superstition by generations of native people, who rarely, if ever, ventured into the wilderness.

Early European fur traders, explorers, then a bit later, gold miners, did not have the same spiritual connection to the land. In quick succession. over barely more than a hundred years, the Crags (and the healing mineral waters discovered at the base) were harvested and exploited to their full potential.

Thanks to activists who work tirelessly to protect our wild lands, the Wilderness Act of 1964 was passed. Castle Crags entered the National Wilderness Preservation System that year.

I decided that finally, on this pilgrimage, I would visit the Crags.  I drove into the park to find myself the only person. The rains let up and I was able to hike the Vista Trail to the overlook with only my down vest for warmth.

I did see some bear scat along a spur trail but no sign of any ursine brothers or sisters, who are likely just waking from their long winter’s nap.

The clouds lifted for me at the top where I was able to see Mt. Shasta to  the north, the Crags to my immediate west. and much of the ancient Siskiyou Range to the south.

 Mt. Shasta made her appearance The Crags dead ahead

A bit of interesting geology. Most of the Siskiyou range are volcanic or sedimentary. The Crags are one of the few large granite bodies called Plutons which managed to push their way through during the Jurassic Period, 65 million years ago.  Then, during the ever evolving glaciation periods, the Crags were buried under ice, the pressure of which help shape and form their distinctive castle like shape.

As close as I could get.

Mt. Shasta, all 14,200 feet of her, is a lot younger than the Crags.  She was formed on what remained from an even larger, older volcano that collapsed a mere 300-500,00 years ago.

Many spiritualist believe that the lay lines and vortexes which result from them, tie Mt. Shasta and the Castle Crags together. I certainly felt an immense sense of peace and power as I sat in the cross section of the two meditating.