Castle Crags Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Castle Crags Wilderness is a 12232 acres (49.5 km²) wilderness area located 40 miles north of Redding, California
within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
. The US Congress passsd the California Wilderness Act
in 1984 which set aside the wilderness. Elevations range from 2,500 feet to 7,300 feet due to the wilderness area's location in the Trinity Mountains which are part of the Klamath Mountains
in the Klamath geological province of northwestern California.
The prominent spires in the southeast that make up the Castle Crags
are the main attraction and are similar to the granitic rock landscape in parts of Yosemite National Park
. In the northern portion of the wilderness, the landscape is more like the Klamath Mountains with glacial erosion, several cirque
s, and abundant rainfall with a high, east-trending divide. The area is bounded on the east by the Sacramento River
, in the north by the South Fork Sacramento River and in the south by the canyon of Castle Creek and the boundary of Castle Crags State Park.
One roadless area of 1732 acres (7 km²) borders on the northwest and contains the largest glacial cirque, Castle Lake, which is near where the Modoc War
's 1855 Battle of Castle Crags took place. Now a historical landmark (California Historical Landmark No.16), the battle was fought on a ridge saddle between the lake and what is known as Battle Rock.
The Wintu
Indians who inhabited the area called the crags the Abode of the Devil and the Spanish explorers called it Castle del Diablo (Castle of the Devil.)
There are mineral springs at the base of the crags which were used by the early fur traders, and after the Southern Pacific Railroad was completed into the area, health resorts sprang up as well. The railroad touted the beauty of the West to increase ridership, improve the West's image, and hopefully, sell some of its land holdings. Sunset was a publication started in 1898 by the passenger department of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company that described various places in the West and was named after its Sunset Limited railroad line which went from New Orleans to San Francisco. The magazine's description of Castle Crags is the typical, flowery writing style of that era:
The advent of logging and mining brought even more people to the area with some mining continuing until the 1950s.
In 1933, concerned citizens successfully worked to protect the area and were able to acquire much of the land that became the state park. President Reagan signed into law the California Wilderness Act in 1984 that protected another 10500 acres (42.5 km²) and was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System
.
The wilderness contains more than 300 species of wildflowers, including the Castle Crags harebell and the Castle Crags ivesia
, both endemic, as well as tiger lily
, monkey flower
, and Indian rhubarb
. Drier locations have yarrow
, aster and buckwheat
. Forested areas have incense cedar, white fir, Ponderosa pine, several types of oaks with Pacific dogwood
and maple in riparian zones. Meadows and brushlands have various kinds of manzanita
along with huckleberry oak, chaparral
and mountain whitethorn. Poison oak
is common, as are rattlesnakes—dictating caution when hiking the trails.
Black bears
, coyote
s, bobcat
s and mountain lions are some of the larger predators in this diverse habitat of bare granite, steep slopes, meadows and mountain streams.
(PCT) traverses the wilderness for 19 miles with several spur trails connecting from the park to the PCT.
The Castle Dome Trail is a strenuous hiking trail into the crags proper and passes near Indian Springs, a natural hillside spring
with views of the crags. The trail ends after 2.7 miles at a notch just west of Castle Dome (4,829 ft), the southernmost of the crags, providing an unobstructed view of Mount Shasta
and the spires, buttresses, sheer cliffs and domes of the Castle Crags.
Rock climbing opportunities range from Class 5 to Class 5.13a in difficulty, and although the granite rocks are massive, some areas are unstable because of exfoliation
(flaking layers of loose rock).
The Forest Service encourages the use of Leave No Trace
principles of outdoor travel to minimize impact to the environment.
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
The Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a federally designated forest in northern California, USA. It is the largest National Forest in California and is managed by the United States Forest Service. The 2.2-million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and of...
. The US Congress passsd the California Wilderness Act
California Wilderness Act of 1984
The California Wilderness Act of 1984 is a federal law , passed by the United States Congress on September 28, 1984, that authorized the addition of over within the state of California to the National Wilderness Preservation System....
in 1984 which set aside the wilderness. Elevations range from 2,500 feet to 7,300 feet due to the wilderness area's location in the Trinity Mountains which are part of the Klamath Mountains
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
in the Klamath geological province of northwestern California.
The prominent spires in the southeast that make up the Castle Crags
Castle Crags
Castle Crags is a dramatic and well-known rock formation in Northern California. Although the mountains of Northern California consist largely of rocks of volcanic and sedimentary origin, granite bodies intruded many parts of the area during the Jurassic period...
are the main attraction and are similar to the granitic rock landscape in parts of Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
. In the northern portion of the wilderness, the landscape is more like the Klamath Mountains with glacial erosion, several cirque
Cirque
Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...
s, and abundant rainfall with a high, east-trending divide. The area is bounded on the east by the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, in the north by the South Fork Sacramento River and in the south by the canyon of Castle Creek and the boundary of Castle Crags State Park.
One roadless area of 1732 acres (7 km²) borders on the northwest and contains the largest glacial cirque, Castle Lake, which is near where the Modoc War
Modoc War
The Modoc War, or Modoc Campaign , was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc tribe and the United States Army in southern Oregon and northern California from 1872–1873. The Modoc War was the last of the Indian Wars to occur in California or Oregon...
's 1855 Battle of Castle Crags took place. Now a historical landmark (California Historical Landmark No.16), the battle was fought on a ridge saddle between the lake and what is known as Battle Rock.
The Wintu
Wintu
The Wintu are Native Americans who live in what is now Northern California. They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as the Wintun . Others are the Nomlaki and the Patwin...
Indians who inhabited the area called the crags the Abode of the Devil and the Spanish explorers called it Castle del Diablo (Castle of the Devil.)
There are mineral springs at the base of the crags which were used by the early fur traders, and after the Southern Pacific Railroad was completed into the area, health resorts sprang up as well. The railroad touted the beauty of the West to increase ridership, improve the West's image, and hopefully, sell some of its land holdings. Sunset was a publication started in 1898 by the passenger department of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company that described various places in the West and was named after its Sunset Limited railroad line which went from New Orleans to San Francisco. The magazine's description of Castle Crags is the typical, flowery writing style of that era:
These are peaks of a spur of the Trinity range, that rise abruptly in towers and pinnacles, splintered and riven in all manner of fantastic shapes. With every slight change in the position of the beholder they seem to march and countermarch, advance and recede, until one is ready to believe them moving.
The advent of logging and mining brought even more people to the area with some mining continuing until the 1950s.
In 1933, concerned citizens successfully worked to protect the area and were able to acquire much of the land that became the state park. President Reagan signed into law the California Wilderness Act in 1984 that protected another 10500 acres (42.5 km²) and was added to the National Wilderness Preservation System
National Wilderness Preservation System
The National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States protects federally managed land areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964...
.
Flora and fauna
Ivesia
Ivesia is also a synonym for the Nesticus spider genus.Ivesia is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family known generally as mousetails. They are perennial herbs native to western North America, especially the western United States...
, both endemic, as well as tiger lily
Lilium columbianum
Lilium columbianum is a lily native to western North America. It is also known as the Columbia Lily or Tiger Lily .-Distribution:...
, monkey flower
Mimulus
Mimulus is a diverse plant genus, the monkey-flowers and musk-flowers. The about 150 species are currently placed in the family Phrymaceae. The genus has traditionally been placed in Scrophulariaceae. The removal of Mimulus from that family has been supported by studies of chloroplast DNA first...
, and Indian rhubarb
Darmera
Darmera peltata is the only species within the genus Darmera in the family Saxifragaceae...
. Drier locations have yarrow
Yarrow
Achillea millefolium or yarrow is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. In New Mexico and southern Colorado, it is called plumajillo, or "little feather", for the shape of the leaves. In antiquity, yarrow was known as herbal militaris, for its use in...
, aster and buckwheat
Buckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
. Forested areas have incense cedar, white fir, Ponderosa pine, several types of oaks with Pacific dogwood
Pacific Dogwood
The Pacific Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii , is a species of dogwood native to western North America from lowlands of southern British Columbia to mountains of southern California. An inland population occurs in central Idaho. Cultivated examples are found as far north as Haida Gwaii...
and maple in riparian zones. Meadows and brushlands have various kinds of manzanita
Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia, Washington to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and...
along with huckleberry oak, chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and mountain whitethorn. Poison oak
Poison oak
Poison oak may refer to* Toxicodendron diversilobum, grows on West Coast of North America* Toxicodendron pubescens, grows in the Eastern United Statesdamnnnnn tissss is terribleee...
is common, as are rattlesnakes—dictating caution when hiking the trails.
Black bears
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s and mountain lions are some of the larger predators in this diverse habitat of bare granite, steep slopes, meadows and mountain streams.
Recreation
The state park extends 480 acres (1.9 km²) inside the wilderness and has five of the nine trailheads. The Pacific Crest TrailPacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail on the Western Seaboard of the United States. The southern terminus is at the California border with Mexico...
(PCT) traverses the wilderness for 19 miles with several spur trails connecting from the park to the PCT.
The Castle Dome Trail is a strenuous hiking trail into the crags proper and passes near Indian Springs, a natural hillside spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
with views of the crags. The trail ends after 2.7 miles at a notch just west of Castle Dome (4,829 ft), the southernmost of the crags, providing an unobstructed view of Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and at is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California...
and the spires, buttresses, sheer cliffs and domes of the Castle Crags.
Rock climbing opportunities range from Class 5 to Class 5.13a in difficulty, and although the granite rocks are massive, some areas are unstable because of exfoliation
Exfoliation (geology)
Exfoliation joints or sheet joints are surface-parallel fracture systems in rock often leading to erosion of concentric slabs.- General characteristics of exfoliation joints :* Commonly follow topography ....
(flaking layers of loose rock).
The Forest Service encourages the use of Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace is both a set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they hike, camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle, ride horses, fish, ski or...
principles of outdoor travel to minimize impact to the environment.