Mount Shasta (McCloud)
Lake Shasta, north of Redding, looked appealing but all the marinas filled with boats turned me away. Twenty miles south of Mount Shasta I exited on a whim when I saw the universal highway sign for camping. There was a nice little park along the Sacramento River I was tempted to stay at, but I decided to chance it and proceeded to Mount Shasta City. The lady at the tourist info center gave me a list of campgrounds in the area and recommended some in the McCloud area. Without really checking the list I headed in the direction she pointed me.
I arrived at Fowlers Camp and thought it would do, but was concerned that at 3500 feet in altitude it would not be as cool as I would like. I drove six miles up the road to Cattle Camp and not a soul was camping there. The Sheriff and campground host were sitting out on the porch though. It was tempting since I like seclusion, but I headed back to Fowlers. I immediately saw four deer in the campsites. My first choice of a site had a dead chipmunk in it. I quickly vacated it, fearing the Hunta virus or rabies. I found an adequate site, set up camp and began to explore.
The camp is on the McCloud River. There are three falls: upper, middle, and lower. Middle is shown above. I hiked from 4pm to 7pm and took some nice pictures. Back at camp after soaking my feet and calves in the river until they were numb. On a whim, I hooked up my only lure and tried my hand at fishing. I found a spot where I thought the fish should be. I got a strike on the first cast and almost every other cast. I landed a few ten-inch rainbow which I then released. In the morning I got up and did the same thing before breaking camp.