Our first stop was the Visitor's Center. They do offer tours, but we just missed one. The next one was two hours away. So, we did the next best thing. We watched the video of the tour. It only took 15 minutes and covered everything you would have seen on the one-hour tour. While it would have been cool to take the elevator down 40-some floors to the base of the dam, the time we saved allowed us to hike along the Sacramento River. However, I would be remiss if we didn't pass along some of the cool things we learned. For example, Shasta Dam is the second largest dam by mass of concrete. Hoover Dam is higher, but Shasta has more volume. It took seven years to construct - 1938 to 1945. If you want to take a virtual tour, just click the link to Shasta Tour.
After the Visitor's Center, we got the chance to drive over the dam. As you can imagine, security was really, really high. We had to talk to a security officer and explain that we wanted to get to the other side to reach a trailhead and go for a hike. He then radioed to central command. Once he got clearance to let us pass, he had to lower a large barricade. We could not stop as we drove across, so we only have this view of the lake and Mt. Shasta in the distance.
On the opposite side, we had to wait while another security officer, lowered another barricade. The trailhead we were aiming for was the Dry Creek Trailhead just past the end of the dam. However, this trailhead was now closed for security reasons. The only other way to access Dry Creek was a three mile dirt and gravel road - no thanks. So, we ended up exploring The Sacramento River Rail Trail instead. This paved bicycle trail runs from the Keswick Dam, north of Redding, to the Shasta Dam on an old railroad bed. It is 11.1 miles one way. We decided to walk a few miles to stretch our legs before heading back over the dam. The vegetation in the area was pretty dense. We had trouble seeing the river at times. However, when we got a peek, it was a beautiful teal color.
At one point along the trail, we found a small creek coming down the hillside that passed under the trail. We climbed down to get a closer look. The massive stone work was impressive.
However, the really cool thing was the optical illusion at the end of the culvert. The opening appeared circular even though only half the opening was visible. The effect was caused by reflection through the opening.
As we hiked further along the trail, we came to an old train tunnel. What is that light at the end? We hiked through the tunnel, but found a service road on the side, so hiked that road on the way back.
Did we mention the serious amount of bear scat we found on the trail? Obviously, someone beside mountain bikers likes this rail trail. We took the warnings about cougars seriously. Every time we walked under a cliff face, we were looking up. At one point, we startled a turkey - a real, huge tom turkey that was a monster - maybe over 25 pounds. I am not sure who was more scared - Kathy or the turkey. After making a ruckus, he flew across the river.
We did get a few view good views of the river. There were a sizeable number of waterfowl, including a great blue heron standing in the river, looking for floating food. Here a cormorant spreads his wings in the breeze.
When you look out on this landscape, you can certainly understand why folks like living in Northern California.
We made it back across the dam without incident. It does feel kind of creepy being inspected. However, I understand the need to be cautious in this day and age.
Back at camp, we ran into a couple who lost their big tom cat, Tommy. Brought back all those memories of losing Baxter. Never want to go through that again.
It feels good to be back in the groove. We seem to have recovered from our colds and Kathy's back is on the mend. We look forward to posting a few more adventures from Shasta and Lassen.
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