Whiskeytown

After a drive up to a view of Mt. Shasta, Sam and I headed west from Redding on SR299 to Whiskeytown Lake.  After a rocky, curvy ride on a dirt road, we reached access to the Brandy Creek Trail.

The hike up to the Brandy Creek Falls was under two miles, but it was pretty much all uphill, not easy for an old lady like me.  But I did it, and yes, I am proud of that accomplishment

The higher we hiked, the cooler it got.  At the base, the temperature was close to 100 degrees, but by the time we reached the top of the falls, it was close to being chilly.

The falls were beautiful, loud, soothing and powerful.  One has to feel humbled in the midst of that majesty.

On the hike up to the falls, we encountered two women making their way down.  They gave us a heads-up on what to expect.  On our way down, we met up with them again, and then once more by our car in the parking lot.  Turns out they'd parked much further down, and had hiked up much farther than they'd needed to.  Clearly, they were tired, so Sam and I offered them a ride to their car.  The conversation revealed that they'd lived in the area for many years, but had never hiked to the falls.  Isn't it always true . . . you never see what's in your own back yard?  After the experience they had today, they were determined to see everything they could in their neck of the woods.

I doubt very much if I will ever get to Whiskeytown again, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sam does.  For today, I am in love with Whiskeytown, and I will remain in love with the memory of an amazing day.