Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Here’s what you need to know if you need to do a Zoom meeting during your stay at the lake or you’re trying to meet friends by boat... cell coverage and Wi-Fi can be an issue during the busy season (Memorial Day to Labor Day). But there are always solutions! Lake Shasta is surrounded by woods, and we don’t have underground cable for internet. We rely on cell towers and satellite dishes. And when the lake is full of tourists, the Wi-Fi is s-l-o-w and even texting can be problematic because our cell towers are overloaded. The best cell coverage on or near the lake is Verizon. AT&T is second. T-Mobile is usually problematic. If you must get work done, do research on the web, or want to stream... try to do it either in the morning or after the sun goes down. We don’t have hotels or Starbucks-type coffee shops with Wi-Fi near the lake unless you want to drive 30 minutes south to Redding or north to Mt. Shasta City. If you’re renting a houseboat and want cell service, your options are very limited. Most places around I-5 have cell service, including the shoreline near Bridge Bay and Antlers Resort. I have one or two bars near Sugarloaf Resort... enough to call people, but texting is iffy. I’ve also had good luck in the summer with a powerful Verizon hot spot on the lake... but only in certain areas. Moral of the story: Plan ahead, leave your work at home, and enjoy your friends and family, the lake and the stars. Our short-term rental has Wi-Fi and cell coverage... but again the busy season slows things down. Plan to jump in the hot tub, take a dip in the pool, go fishing, or play some corn hole while you wait.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023

A Perfect Day on the Pacific Coast Trail Doing a day hike on the Pacific Coast Trail has been on my bucket list for years. I vowed to my family that after water ski season was over this year, we’d hit the trail before the snow had a chance to foil our plans. And that’s exactly what we did on Veteran’s Day... and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We dressed in light layers, hopped in the car, and drove to Dunsmuir for a hearty breakfast. It’s a beautiful 30-minute drive from our rental cabin in Lakehead with peek-a-boo sightings of Mt. Shasta along the way. There’s a great Vista Point right off of I-5 going north as you close in on Dunsmuir that’s worth the stop. There are fun facts about the mountain painted on the sidewalk as you move from the parking lot toward the view for your money shot of Mt. Shasta to post on Instagram. Our fave breakfast restaurant in Dunsmuir—Cornerstone—was permanently closed, so we headed to Penny’s Diner right off exit 732. It’s like stepping back in time when you enter. The architecture, interior design, music, and employees will make you think you were transported to the 1950s. The breakfast is excellent. Bonus: They’re open 24 hours. Next we headed south on I-5 to exit 726, Soda Creek Road. As soon as you pull off, there is a gravel parking lot on the right-hand side. Don’t take the trail adjacent to the lot; walk south and to the right and you’ll find the trailhead with a locked green gate. No dog, bikes, or horses on this trail. We hit the Pacific Coast Trail and headed toward Root Creek Trail to see the falls. It’s a 5-mile round-trip hike with most of the elevation gain done in the very beginning, while the rest is easy walking. You’ll cross a few wooden bridges, and almost the entire hike is under the canopy of the trees. Truly gorgeous! On the way back from the dead end, which really wasn’t a waterfall in November, we decide to walk up to Vista Point. It was a short walk where you hit a parking lot. Walk through the parking lot and follow the signs to the Vista Point because this was the highlight of the day. When we arrived, we saw not only a picture-perfect view of Mt. Shasta but a stunning view of the Castle Crags. I exclaimed, “Wow, wow, wow!” at least a dozen times. There is a telescope, bench, and picnic table there to hang out at while you rest and enjoy the epic view. Instead of heading back to our parked car the way we’d come, we followed a sign to the Kettlebelly trail. The initial trail is not as well marked as the previous trails and you’ll feel like you’re going in the opposite direction of your car (which you are), but once you come off the ridge, you’ll hit a T in the trail and will go left on Kettlebelly, which eventually brings you back to the Pacific Coast Trail and your car. The entire hike took about 3.5 hours with several stops for photos and oohing and aahing at surrounding landscape. Then we headed back to Dunsmuir to our favorite burger place, Yaks. They definitely have the yummiest burgers in the area. The menu is very creative with burgers like the Cilantro Bomb and the kids’ Gummy Bear burger. They also have a great pastrami sandwich, loaded tater tots, and a huge assortment of beers and local ciders. You can sit outside under the trees or indoors with lots of art and eccentric decor to cast your eyes upon. But most importantly, you must leave with sticky buns for your next morning’s breakfast... if they last that long! (We always get an extra one to share as an appetizer before our burgers are cooked.)