Flume Trail (Castle Crags State Park, CA) 21-Jul-2021

After going high for our first hike in the Mount Shasta area, we decided to go some 4,000 feet (1,220 m) lower for our second. Specifically, a loop formed from the Flume and Bob’s Hat Trails and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in Castle Crags State Park. We got another early start but noticed that the heat built sooner and higher down here than it had up at Boulder Peak. That said, there was plenty of shade and even a few, still flowing, water courses to keep the heat at bay – at least in the morning. But we were back in town – “rehydrating” – before it got too hot. 😅

On our previous trips to Castle Crags, we did a 3^rd/4^th Class climb to the top of Castle Dome (4,966 ft / 1,514 m) and an out-and-back hike on the PCT past Burstarse Falls to Sabin’s Point. Today we went up the Flume Trail to the PCT, took that back to the Bob’s Hat Trail, and followed Bob’s Hat back down to the trailhead. There was shade and history along the Flume Trail, several thru-hikers and small streams along the PCT, and a heated descent on the Bob’s Hat.

We reached the PCT and started NOBO on it. One thing we noticed is that it crosses a number of small, still running, streams that have little name plaques next to them but which do not appear as named on the USGS or USFS topo maps. Only Indian Creek and its tributaries appear on these maps.

Because this piece of the PCT undulates quiet a bit, our 7.4 mile (11.9 km) loop, with about 900 feet (275 m) of gain, offered up a little more exercise than expected. Still, it was a good hike – probably one that would be even better in the Spring when it’s (hopefully) cooler and more of the streams are gushing. 🙂

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