Exploring Whiskeytown; Boulder Creek Falls Trail

Exploring Whiskeytown; Boulder Creek Falls Trail

Art, Series and Works
On February 14th I was out at Whiskeytown in the early morning for a hike to Boulder Creek Falls. I went via South Shore Drive, and I'm glad that I did. The views just on the 2.5 mile drive down the dirt road were worth it. The hike was also really good, with a few good views of Whiskeytown Lake on the way up, and the ruins were neat to see. The waterfall at least when I went was a little unimpressive, just not that much water coming down. According to my phones GPS it was 6.38 miles round-trip.   [gallery columns="4" size="medium" ids="702,701,700,699,698,697,696,695,694,693,692,691"]
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Exploring Whiskeytown; Clear Creek Canal Trail

Exploring Whiskeytown; Clear Creek Canal Trail

Art, Series and Works
On February 8th I hiked Clear Creek Canal Trail. This tail is mostly flat and meanders through the forest offering a good view of Whiskeytown Dam, and some of the surrounding mountains. It is a long trail at 4.5 miles long (so 9 miles round-trip), you can shorten it to around 7.3 miles by taking the Shasta Mine Loop trail back when you return. The trail make a sort of lazy loop, starting on the far side of the Mount Shasta Mine Loop Trail parking lot and crosses the road around 4 times. There is a part of the trail where you can see the Whiskeytown Cemetery. Eventually the trail combines with the Shasta Mine Loop trail for a short while, this is where it can get a bit confusing…
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Exploring Whiskeytown; Crystal Creek Water Ditch Trail (2018)

Exploring Whiskeytown; Crystal Creek Water Ditch Trail (2018)

Art, Series and Works
On Sunday the 28th the weather was really nice so a trip out to Whiskeytown was in order. Now that everything isn't just different shades of brown and red. I last hiked this trail on June 21st 2017, shortly after it re-opened. It is really interesting to see how the different seasons change how you approach the photograph. [gallery columns="4" size="medium" ids="669,667,666,665,664,663,662"]
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Abandoned Places; Crystal Creek Regional Boys Camp

Abandoned Places; Crystal Creek Regional Boys Camp

Art, Series and Works
Crystal Creek Boys Camp was a juvenile camp near Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, it was abandoned in 2009 when the budget was cut to the program. What is left behind is a handful of mostly intact buildings, and a bunch of vandalization. Of the many windows that were once filled with glass I don't believe there is a single one left with glass intact. There is some interesting graffiti there now. It is both sad and intriguing that in nine years a facility that was once maintained can fall to such pieces. I was ill equipped to photograph any interiors so I didn't go into many of the building, a few of them are accessible. I plan to go back at a latter date with some strobe lights, and flashlights.…
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Hiking In Lassen; Manzanita Lake, Reflection Lake, Lilly Pad Pond Trail

Hiking In Lassen; Manzanita Lake, Reflection Lake, Lilly Pad Pond Trail

Art, Series and Works
On August 9th, we combined three trails near the Manzanita Lake entrance side into one longer loop. We started with the Manzinita Lake loop, parking down by the boat launch. Then when we made it to the Visitor Center we crossed the road and completed the Reflection Lake Loop, and at around three-quarters completion you can take a path onto the Lilly Pad Pond loop up to a small pond that is full of Lilly pads. According to my phone's gps the total length was 3.67 miles with 265 ft of elevation gain. [gallery columns="4" size="full" type="slideshow" ids="615,616,617,618,619,613,614"]
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Hiking In Lassen; Crag Lake (Chaos Crags)

Hiking In Lassen; Crag Lake (Chaos Crags)

Art, Series and Works
The first hike that I went on at Lassen National Park is also the last one that I wrote about in Lassen in 2015. Chaos Crags also known as Crag Lake. Its a nice trail that winds up the forest towards a small seasonal lake. Most years I've been out to it there is no water in the lake. But this year there was actually a lake there. It was great to see it with water in it. I took two Photo Sphere on this hike, there were really two view, one looking out from the crag and the other down inside of the crater. [sphere 590] [sphere 591] This was a fun hike to photograph, with many expansive views to take in, even more as you climb higher. [gallery columns="4" size="medium"…
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Exploring Whiskeytown: Davis Gulch Trail

Exploring Whiskeytown: Davis Gulch Trail

Art, Series and Works
I've fallen behind on posting these, the last hike that I did at Whiskeytown was Davis Gulch Trail on July 19th. I've since been hiking in Lassen and I will start posting those soon. The Davis Gulch Trail is one that is alongside the lake, and leads over towards the Brady Creek Beach area. There are some great views of the lake on this trail, and it seems like the trail would be more interesting earlier in the season with some water still flowing in the stream. The Photo sphere is from one of the benches near the halfway mark that overlooked Whiskeytown Lake. [sphere 585]   [gallery columns="4" size="medium" ids="583,582,581,580,579,578,577,576"]
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Exploring Whiskeytown: Salt Creek Loop Trail

Exploring Whiskeytown: Salt Creek Loop Trail

Art, Series and Works
I don't have a lot to say about Salt Creek Loop Trail. It is one of the newer trails in a less developed area of Whiskeytown. The trail was hard to navigate and the landscape was all dry. There are only five photographs from this hike. There wasn't really any good views on this trail and it was mostly just a walk in the woods. The most memorable part of this trail was the swarm of mosquitoes that attacked anytime you were near the dried up creek bed. I do think that this trail would be really nice in late spring or really early summer when there is still water in the creek.   [sphere 555] Next week is Davis Gulch trail, right alongside the lake. This will be my…
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Exploring Whiskeytown: Shasta Divide Nature Trail

Exploring Whiskeytown: Shasta Divide Nature Trail

Art, Series and Works
The Shasta Divide Nature trail starts right at the end of the parking lot for the Visitor Center. This is a nice easy and short trail that winds down to the lake shore and makes a small loop. I was really surprised by this trail and the views of the lake that it offered. The trail makes a small loop, overall it is around .4 miles. The photosphere from this hike is on the lakeside at the bottom section of the loop. [sphere 544]   [gallery columns="4" size="medium" ids="538,540,539,537,536"]
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Exploring Whiskeytown: Guardian Rock Trail

Exploring Whiskeytown: Guardian Rock Trail

Art, Series and Works
Last week I was out at Guardian Rock Trail, and came back with a ton of photographs. As a result it has taken me longer than I'd like to get this posted. There are 28 final photographs, and the majority of them are HDR or Panoramic images. I really enjoyed this trail. I cannot specifically recall having hiked this trail before, but given its proximity to the NEED Camp I assume that I was on the trail then in 6th grade. All I can remember about being at that camp is the aftermath and having poison oak covering my body. This trail starts out at the Bridge leading to the NEED Camp across Clear Creek. You make your way down to the creekside and the mile walk is almost always…
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