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PARKS
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
California
It's a good thing Teddy Roosevelt had the vision and foresight to protect American forests like Shasta-Trinity — granite peaks and cliffs, canyons, glaciers, rock pinnacles, and reflective lakes offer a solitude you won't find inside any of California's suburban malls. T.R. set aside Shasta and Trinity as separate national forests way back in 1905 and 1907 — in 1954, their administrations were merged. Here, the earth is raw and visceral; its power is palpable. As Mount Shasta looms in the distance, a plume of sulfurous smoke serves as a reminder of the awesome energy that lies hidden beneath the surface — at 14,162 feet, it is the second highest volcano in the Cascade Range.
Speak softly and carry a big stick, T.R. famously uttered — perhaps he meant a big hiking stick. Hikers can explore a labyrinth of trails that meander through the forest — more than 1,400 miles of trails carve their way through Shasta-Trinity. Many of the trails are protected by a natural canopy of cedar trees, ponderosa pine, pacific dogwood, black cottonwood, and pacific yews. On the forest floor, hikers will occasionally find themselves flanked by deerbrush, snowbrush, and ceanothus — the latter forms dense brushfields along California's sun-drenched slopes.
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[from Outside magazine]
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