To our good fortune, we discovered Everitt Memorial Highway, which leads up into the mountain itself. 10 miles from the beautiful town of Mt. Shasta, we drove past the ranger station at Bunny Flats (no bunnies spotted there), and continued another 3 miles to Panther Meadows parking lot and trail head. To our delight, we found a self-register campground (for future reference), dotted with camping tents and gear, and a trail head to Panther Meadows.
Why Panther Meadows, you may ask. A few days before this excursion, we had compared various trail write-ups in this area. Knowing we had a 10-year-old and 11-year-old and 3 women in their 40s and 50s, we decided the best plan for a 14,179 ft mountain was an introduction-to-hiking trail. Panther Meadows proved to be the perfect site. Easily located, the .5 mile trail proved gentle and gorgeous. Following a brook through wildflower meadows, stellar jays, and calming pines, the children delighted in finding special rocks, mosses, varieties of wildflowers, and chipmunks.
The trail ends at a bu
bbling spring, roped off to protect the surrounding vegetation. Interestingly, there were quite a few colorfully dressed older women with their floppy sun hats sitting around the spring while longingly gazing at the beautiful wildflowers bowing in the gentle breeze. Some had brought crystals to purify in the mountain spring water, hopefully recharging with the spiritual energy of the mountain.
The children joyfully played with stones found in the brook water, admiring the large crystals laying in the sunny, clear waters or drying on the surrounding stones. No one wanted to leave until the air temperature dropped with the lowering of the sun.
A gentle walk back to the trail brought promises of future visits. The previously favorite city park in the town of Mt. Shasta now looked pale in comparison to today's experience.
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