Climbing and Skiing Lassen & Shasta: Day 5 of 7
Day 5: The Quiet Day Before Shasta
as always, the full gallery is at the bottom, so skip there if you don’t care about the words
Not every day on a seven day alpine project looks like a ski descent or a summit push. Some days look like sleeping in, running errands, and eating enough food to prepare your body for what is coming next. Day five was that day. And honestly, after everything Mount Lassen had put me through, I needed it.
I let myself sleep. No four AM alarm. No rushing out the door in the dark. I just rested until my body was ready to get up and that felt like a small luxury after the previous few days. When you are deep in a solo project like this, rest is not laziness. Rest is strategy. A tired body makes bad decisions in the mountains and I had a big mountain ahead of me.
Once I was up I drove down into the town of Mount Shasta. I needed to pick up a few things I had not been able to find earlier in the trip. Odds and ends. The kind of stuff you do not think about until you are in the middle of nowhere and realize you forgot it. I also needed to get my permit for the climb. Mount Shasta requires a summit pass and getting that sorted ahead of time is just part of the process. It is one of those behind the scenes logistical pieces that nobody really sees but every successful project depends on.
Camera Gear I Packed For The Shasta & Lassen Project:
Tamron 16-30; probably my favorite lens right now
Tamron 28-75; I think this is the best all around focal length
Tamron 70-180; I don’t use this a ton, but it’s a great lens
Peak Design Lite strap (I was lucky enough to get the camo version from the Sitka collab that sold out in less than 24 hours and feel cool about that)
After town I got back to the van and settled in for a few hours of work. I edited photos, caught up on some of the commercial work that needed attention, and did a rough inventory of everything I was bringing up the mountain. Two nights out means packing smart. Every ounce matters when you are carrying a full mountaineering kit up a fourteen thousand foot volcano. Tent, sleeping gear, food, camera equipment, climbing gear, layers. I went through it all methodically and made sure nothing critical was missing.
The plan for Shasta was straightforward. Pack in on day six, set up camp, rest and enjoy being up there, then wake up early and push for the summit. Come back down to camp, sleep one more night, and pack out the following morning. Clean and simple. Two days on the mountain with a summit in the middle.
By evening I had everything ready. Gear was organized. Food was prepped. Permit was sorted. I ate a big dinner, did a final check of my pack, and got to bed at a reasonable hour. Tomorrow the real work would begin again. Mount Shasta was not going to climb itself.
Again, thank you to anyone and everyone reading this. If you have enjoyed this journal entry, shoot me an email to say hey: dj@dalton-johnson.com
✌️
The Day’s Gallery
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About Dalton:
Dalton Johnson is a photographer, filmmaker, and writer.
Over the last 10 years, Dalton’s creative work has taken him to every continent, above the arctic circle, and below the antarctic circle.
His travels are documented in a free, weekly newsletter called UnBound, which is written for those daring to build their dream life.
