Pictures -- Central California
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Mt Lassen, the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range, as seen from the Hat Creek Rim, which was burned extensively in the 1987 Lost Fire. Even when vegetated, the rim is extremely hot and bone-dry; nowadays, it's best to do this 30-mile waterless section at night.
Grizzly Ridge offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. But the scenery is less dramatic than what hikers see further south -- the mountainsides are thickly forested and gently sloped, not unlike many places in the Appalachians.
One of the legendary-sized pinecones that are commonplace in California
Marshy Lakes drainage in the Trinity Alps Wilderness
Marble Mountain consists of sedimentary limestone, which is a geological anomaly in comparison to the mountains around it, which consist primarily of old lava flows.
Castle Crags, another geological freak; it originated in much the same way as the Sierra Nevada -- a deep magma chamber cooled and hardened, and then was exposed through erosion of the layers above it.
Mt Shasta (elev., 14,161 feet) is the second highest mountain the Cascade Range, behind Washington's Mt Ranier (elev. 14,410). Shasta is the product of four ancient eruptive centers, the two most pronounced being the Hotlum cone -- which forms the summit, and which is the youngest at just a few centuries old -- and Shastina -- which, in the photo, is cone below the summit to the left.
The "town" of Seiad Valley, which consists of not much more than a café, store, and post office -- all of which share this building. It is typical of the PCT's trail towns, most of which are small mountain settlements that have little in the way of services.
The Klamath River Valley
When I started from the Mexican border I did not expect to reach the Oregon border within the 45 days I was planning to be on the trail. But I hiked much faster than I expected to, and reaching the Oregon border was a somewhat satisfying end to the hike -- better than, say, reaching an insignificant highway and sticking out my thumb.
I was a very dirty kid when I finished up outside Ashland. Northern California is extremely dusty -- a combination of volcanic ash soil and complete lack of rainfall -- and my legs became caked with dirt. Staying clean was not an option.