A Canyon River/Waterfall Hike at Lake Shasta - CA

Cottonwood, CA
Moochdocking



We left our trailer behind at my parents and drove up to visit my sister, 3 hours north, and stayed at her place.  It's so much easier to drive through the crazy traffic in Sacramento without the trailer.

 

A quick thunderstorm passed through as we drove up I5 and left a pretty rainbow.

We had a nice time at my sisters.  Just hanging out on her back deck fishing and relaxing.

My sister lives on a small man-made lake and has her own dock.

Pasta on the patio.  Salute!

Almost embarrassing when it feels like you got a good one on the line but it's just a dinker!

 

The next day while Steve worked, my sister, Kris, and I took her boat up to Lake Shasta, about an hour north of her place, for some fishing and a special hike if we could find the trailhead.

The fishing was just ok and the Bass weren't very big.  Still great to be on the water on a nice day!

You have to boat in.  We're headed to the back of this inlet.

Our main goal was to hike Little Backbone Creek which is across from Digger Bay.  You have to hike through the colorful canyon in the river, up and over boulders to the natural waterfall/slide.  I still had stitches in my finger that I couldn't get wet so I had to be careful.

My sister said it should be a fairly easy hike.

Right off the bat you have to climb over some large boulders.  Not easy to do when you're trying not to use your index finger one hand.  Who's the Nazi now you guys?!

Funny to see this old tractor tire up here in the creek. It must've washed down the creek a long way to get here.  No roads or properties around.

The colors of the rock in this canyon are amazing! 

 

The water is crystal clear!

I like how the picture looks like a watercolor painting when you zoom in.

It seems the water running over the boulders makes the orange/red color really come out.

There are many waterfalls as the water drops down into several pools along the way.

 

I had to do a lot of butt scooting as the rocks were very slick from the water running over them over the years.  My sister had to help me out in a few spots so I didn't slip and split my finger open.

 Made it to the slide.

 

I couldn't get wet so no slide fun for me.

You have to use the rope to get up to the top.  We had a nice snack break here before heading down.

Look at these colors!

See how smooth the rock surface can be.  Very slick, even dry.

Me & Kris

It was a fun day!

 

Phoebe and Hurley waiting for their turn to take the boat to the dog park just around the lake from my sister.

 

The dogs had a great time playing in the water and us adults had some nice drinks and appetizers at the bar on the lake.

It was a great visit and now we'll be heading towards Nevada to spend some time with friends and visit new parts of the Silver State.