Horse Camp
Encyclopedia
Horse Camp is a property on Mount Shasta
owned by the nonprofit Sierra Club Foundation
. It is a 720 acres (2.9 km²) enclave
within the Mount Shasta Wilderness
of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
. It is located at approximately 7950 feet (2,423.2 m) elevation at the lower end of Avalanche Gulch, the most popular climbing route on the mountain.
Horse Camp is accessible from the Bunny Flat trailhead
by hiking approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) on a developed trail with an elevation gain of about 950 feet (289.6 m).
The most notable feature of Horse Camp is the Shasta Alpine Lodge, a climber's hut constructed in 1923. Mostly indigenous
materials were used for construction, including volcanic rock and Shasta red fir. The lodge can be used for emergency shelter for climbers. It contains a guest register, a library of mountain books, and displays about Mount Shasta.
Other features of Horse Camp include a freshwater spring
, low impact campsites, and a solar-powered composting toilet
facility.
The lodge measures about 450 square feet (41.8 m²), and was financed primarily by a donor named Hall McAllister at a cost of $6,725. A caretaker is on duty during the summer months. The first caretaker (1923 - 1934) was Joseph Macatee (Mac) Olberman. With the help of volunteers, Olberman built a 950 yard long flagstone paved path leading uphill from Horse Camp to facilitate access to the Avalanche Gulch climbing route. This structure still exists and is known as Olberman's Causeway.
The camp and the lodge are open year round, even when no caretaker is on duty.
Horse Camp is utilized as a mountaineering
base camp for ascents of Mount Shasta by Avalanche Gulch, Casaval Ridge, the West Face Gully and other routes on the south and west side of the mountain.
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...
owned by the nonprofit Sierra Club Foundation
Sierra Club Foundation
The Sierra Club Foundation is a public charity whose mission is to provide financial support to the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations for tax deductible work...
. It is a 720 acres (2.9 km²) enclave
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...
within the Mount Shasta Wilderness
Mount Shasta Wilderness
The Mount Shasta Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located east of Mount Shasta City in northern California. The US Congress passed the 1984 California Wilderness Act that set aside the Mount Shasta Wilderness. The US Forest Service is the managing agency as the wilderness ...
of 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...
. It is located at approximately 7950 feet (2,423.2 m) elevation at the lower end of Avalanche Gulch, the most popular climbing route on the mountain.
Horse Camp is accessible from the Bunny Flat trailhead
Trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
by hiking approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) on a developed trail with an elevation gain of about 950 feet (289.6 m).
The most notable feature of Horse Camp is the Shasta Alpine Lodge, a climber's hut constructed in 1923. Mostly indigenous
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
materials were used for construction, including volcanic rock and Shasta red fir. The lodge can be used for emergency shelter for climbers. It contains a guest register, a library of mountain books, and displays about Mount Shasta.
Other features of Horse Camp include a freshwater 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...
, low impact campsites, and a solar-powered composting toilet
Composting toilet
A composting toilet is a dry toilet that using a predominantly aerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with no water or small volumes of flush water, via composting or managed aerobic decomposition...
facility.
The lodge measures about 450 square feet (41.8 m²), and was financed primarily by a donor named Hall McAllister at a cost of $6,725. A caretaker is on duty during the summer months. The first caretaker (1923 - 1934) was Joseph Macatee (Mac) Olberman. With the help of volunteers, Olberman built a 950 yard long flagstone paved path leading uphill from Horse Camp to facilitate access to the Avalanche Gulch climbing route. This structure still exists and is known as Olberman's Causeway.
The camp and the lodge are open year round, even when no caretaker is on duty.
Horse Camp is utilized as a mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
base camp for ascents of Mount Shasta by Avalanche Gulch, Casaval Ridge, the West Face Gully and other routes on the south and west side of the mountain.