Five of us headed south to the Castle Lake parking lot and joined 14 other hikers from the Siskiyou Wanderers club, based in the Mt. Shasta area. This hike was organized mainly by Leslie (who was an active member of the Wanderers while living there), with an assist from Francie. The hike was labeled “Difficult” by the hike leader John (his official title is Scribe) and the label proved to be correct.

We were hiking to Arch Rock, which is in the north side of the Castle Craig rock formation. So first we went up to the ridge above Castle Lake, then a light bushwhack down to the PCT, walked along the PCT and finally hiked up the side of a mountain (this would be part of the Castle Craig rock formation to Arch Rock. John did an excellent job finding a route through the forest, brush and rocks to the top.

Lunch was taken at the arch, then back down to just above Castle Lake, where we took a left turn over to Heart Lake. Finally after enjoying a short rest in the sun, we headed back to the cars. The hike was just over 6 miles and 2050 vertical feet but sure seemed more to me. We will probable due this again next year but will depend on John to lead us through the forest.