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24-Hours in the wilderness…

With all the craziness that 2020 has thrown out, the local mountains can offer much needed solitude – and, as the saying goes, you can experience great adventures within 45 minutes of Redding, in any direction. Mountains, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, you name it, we’ve got it. But sometimes it’s therapeutic to go further, much further, and disappear for a day or two.

Some of the more famous spots are Mt. Shasta and Lassen Peak, highly recognizable landmarks from many miles away – but there are many hidden gems all over the California Adventure District.

The Pacific Crest Trail section that straddles Plumas and Sierra Counties is just the ticket for “I don’t want to see anybody for a couple days.” Beautiful vistas, remote trails and lots of wildlife are plentiful as you wander between Tahoe National Forest and Plumas National Forest.

Drop your car (or have a friend drop you off ) where Highways 93 and 621 meet, and you can hop on the PCT heading north for about two and a half miles. The ridge above Deer Lake is a great spot to drop off the trail and wander down to Deer Lake to set up your untamed sleeping quarters for the night. You’ll have plenty of alone time to lay in the wilderness and stare at the millions of stars above you, and listen to the nighttime sounds of a living national forest.

As you awaken to killer sunrise views of Deer Lake and the surrounding mountains, you can spend the day hiking to Gold Lake and the more remote Snake Lake before making your way back to where you started.

Things to take with you: Warm clothing, a knife, food and water for two days, and a lighter or matches.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity”

John Muir