Bartle Gap to Peak 6213

Near: Mt Shasta
Distance: 13 Miles
Elevation: 4,800 to 6,200 feet
Vegetation: Pine Forest and Manzanita
Last Visit: May 2020

The Pacific Crest Trail takes a long detour around Mt Shasta near the California/Oregon border.  Along the southern stretch of this loop is an oft-overlooked series of ridges that are mostly tree covered, but offer a few great views of Mt Shasta across the McCloud River Basin to the north and even a few peaks at Lassen Peak across the lower hills to the south.  Peak 6213 is one of the main high points on this ridge, with outstanding views from it's brushy, manzanita covered summit.  This route is doable as a day hike, or as an overnight trip.  If backpacking, beware that water can be hard to come by on the ridge in the summer.  While less sweeping than the views at Peak 6213, there are also some good views to be had at Mushroom Rock, which the PCT passes under en route to 6213, but be aware that reaching Mushroom Rock requires some painstaking bushwhacking through thick manzanita bushes. (See the route notes for more detail on our misadventure to Mushroom Rock).

Rules

This route is mostly in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, though it passes in and out of national forest land and onto private land in places.  This can have some logistical implications if you want camp high on the ridge as the only year round water sources west of Mooshead Creek (Star City Creek and Gold Creek) are on private land peppered with 'no trespassing' signs.  (Or at least there were signs a few years ago, according to the few trail reports I can find on this section, we never made it west of point 6213).  On the national forest lands, hiking and camping here are free and easy with no permits required, except for camp fires.  Dogs are allowed off leash.

Trailhead

Somewhere along forest road 39N05 between CA-89 and the PCT.  There is no sign about an trailheads or the PCT at the turnoff, so be alert. 39N05 is dirt and gravel and was in pretty good shape when we visited.  According to my Forest Service maps, the road goes from well maintained to 4WD only at some point before reaching the PCT but it looked fine for our Prius the whole way to the trail.  The only reason we walked about a mile of the road was that there is a seasonally closed gate as the road crosses onto private land just north of a spot called 'Walking Bear Camp'.  We parked just off the road about 1/4 mile north of the gate in a section of the road with some convenient pull outs.  There are, of course, no facilities of any kind here.

Route Notes

There are theoretically two possible routes to Peak 6213 from Bartle Gap: the PCT and forest road 38N10.  39N10 is very overgrown with manzanita in at least some of the places we followed it on the southern side of Mushroom Rock, so much so that it was invisible unless you were standing directly on it so you could see the relative lack of branches and debris on the ground.  Looking at maps beforehand, I thought 38N10 would make a good alternative route if the PCT had too much snow on it, since 38N10 stays south of the ridge Mushroom Rock is on, while the PCT hugs a north facing slope, but now having seen it a short section of it, I wouldn't recommend trying to use it for more than accessing the ridge that Mushroom Rock is on.  You'll have the double pleasure of pushing through underbrush much of the way while at the same time having little shade from from the sparse trees on this section.

The PCT is a much better trail of course, but it does stick to steep north-facing slopes.  This is probably the optimal route choice for mid-late summer when through hikers are coming through, as it maximizes shade, but came in late May hoping the low altitude would make this one of the earlier snow free portions of the PCT, but all the tree shaded north facing exposure dashed those hopes and we spend a lot of time side-hilling and playing find the trail.

All the snow did make life easier when we decided to camp near Mushroom Rock, though, as true to previous reports there is no running water up on the ridge.  Even with all the fast melting snow around us we couldn't find any, as the sandy soil sucked the water right up out of the snow.  We had to melt snow for our water, but decided to save camp fuel by filling our bear canisters and sticking them on some sunny rocks while we lounged around camp for a while.

If you want to camp on the ridge I'd recommend taking the PCT to the point just passed Mushroom Rock where it comes close to road 38N10 for the first time (though you won't see it).  You'll come to this spot a bout 1/2 mile after you round the ridge running north from Mushroom Rock and get you first good view of Mt Shasta.  From there you'll circle south then west with a steep hill on your left, pass under one rocky outcropping above to your left, then walk right next to a smaller rock outcropping to your right with a great view north.  A few yards to your left (actually too close to the trail to be technically legal) is a nicely shaded campsite (Campsite 1 on the map).  Walking just a few yards south over the spine of the ridge you'll hit the remnants of 38N10.  Follow 38N10 through a really overgrown section (this is the place on the roads in the photos below) and you'll come out to a more open section of road with a use/road trail through the manzanita up to the ridge to Campsite 2, a completely exposed site with great views.

From Campsite 2, or from the road, there should be a trail to Mushroom Rock, in theory.  We never found it though.  We just had to push east through the manzanita.  We had to carry our dog in a few spots.  The manzanita was too thick for him.  Maybe with less snow, it would have been easier to do this section by skirting the north side of the ridge, just above the steep slope leading down to the PCT.  Or not.  But at the high point of the eastern part of the ridge, there is an open rocky section suitable for planting a tent (Campsite 3) and some large rocks perfect for resting on and enjoying the excellent (but not quite 360 degree) views of Mt Shasta to the north and Lassen Peak to the South.  One of these rocks looks kinda sorta like a mushroom because it gets bigger at the top.  This is mushroom rock.  It's a bit mysterious how such a modest feature got to be a named point on the forest service map.

There is a slightly better view at Peak 6213 than Mushroom rock or the points on the eastern side of the ridge.  6213 is easily reached by following either the PCT or 38N10 (they run just a few feet apart mostly) along the northern side of the ridge for a bit more than a mile past Campsite 1.  We found 38N10 to be better than the PCT in the snow because its a bit flatter and less covered by manzanita here.  As you reach 6213, the PCT crosses over 38N10 and curves around the very steep southern edge of the peak while the road stays closer to the very broad, mananita covered summit.  You never get a good clean summit, but with minimal manzanita bashing you can plant yourself on some large rocks near the top an get a 270 degree view of Lassen, the Trinity Alps, the Castle Crags, the Klamath Ranges, and Mt. Shasta.  Or you can stay on the PCT and get a more limited view with a better vantage over the steep slope to the south.

To the east, the PCT drops a few hundred feet and winds its way along the ridge for about seven more miles to the bare summit of Grizzly peak, just a few feet higher (6252').  There is supposedly a slightly superior view there, which I believe except that peak is crossed by an active 4WD road and some powerlines.  Beyond Grizzly peak the PCT drops almost 4000 feet over 10 miles to cross the McCloud river below McCloud reservoir. The Ash Camp trailhead at that crossing is an alternative access to this ridge line.

CalTopo Map: https://caltopo.com/m/N51A

Photos

Our parking spot on FR39N05

The seasonally closed (when does it open? I don't know) gate on 39N05 just north of the spur to 'Walking Bear Camp'

The turn onto the PCT from 39N05.  We almost walked right passed it, even though there is a nice sign and everything.

The signed spur down to Moosehead Creek.  This is the last reliable summer water source on public land before just after Grizzly Peak, a little over 14 miles from this point.

Some seasonal snowmelt beyond Mooshead Creek.  We saw lots of running water below about 5800 feet, then suddenly nothing as the sandy soil soaked up the water as fast as the snow could melt.

The first nice view of Mt Shasta as the PCT rounds a minor ridge running north from Mushroom Rock

Pushing through the manzanita overgrowing forest road 38N10.  The clear footing on the old roadbed made this WAY easier to push through than the manzanita around Mushroom Rock.

Mushroom Rock and it's more lumpy buddies

Mushroom Rock.  Mt Lassen is visible on the horizon. That's a fire ring somebody built on the top.  All the rock here is this flaky metamorphic stuff that just falls apart under your feet.  Trying to sit around a fire up there, I'd feel totally preoccupied about the edge of the rock disintegrating under me.  This rock is probably not going to last much longer with humans climbing all over it.

Our campsite near Mushroom Rock had a great view of Mt Shasta

Snow covered 38N10 on the way between Campsite 1 and  peak 6213.  The side-hilling here was lower angle and thus less annoying than on the PCT about 50 feet downhill.

The panorama from a rock in the manzanita sea covering the top of peak 6213.

Grizzly Peak from peak 6213.

Presto, our very tired whippet, enjoying a nap while we take in our last good views on our way back down the PCT to Bartle Gap.