Castle Peak Trail to Heart Lake, California

The trail to Heart Lake on Castle Peak Trail overlooking Castle Lake. ... more

by Andrea Borden

Title

Castle Peak Trail to Heart Lake, California

Artist

Andrea Borden

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

The trail to Heart Lake on Castle Peak Trail overlooking Castle Lake.
From HikeMtShasta.com:
"The Heart Lake Trail begins at the Castle Lake trailhead and follows the Castle Lake Trail for the first 0.6 miles before the Heart Lake Trail departs from the Castle Lake Trail. To begin from the parking lot, follow the path east, crossing the lakes outlet after only 30 yards or so. Once across the creek, which is Castle Lake Creek, the trail turns south and begins climbing up the eastern wall above Castle Lake. As the route gains elevation, views of Castle Lake periodically open up through the trees. The lake is one of the three largest in the Klamath Mountains, along with Caribou Lake in the Trinity Alps, which at 72 acres is the largest, and Ukonom Lake in the Marble Mountains. The summit of Castle Peak is visible above the sheer granite headwall at the southern end of the lake. As one nears the top of the climb, the trees thin out and the trail becomes rockier. At 0.5 miles from the trailhead, one finally reaches a saddle 400 feet above Castle Lake.
Heart Lake is small. It is not even a tenth of the size of Castle Lake. Nonetheless, it packs an extremely scenic punch, far outclassing many lakes that are much larger in size. From the south side of the lake, one has one of the finest views of Mount Shasta to be had anywhere. Depending on the time of day, one can be graced with a gorgeous reflection of California’s most spectacular mountain."
Information copied from: http://hikemtshasta.com/trinity-divide-trails/heart-lake-trail/

Uploaded

February 1st, 2016