Last weekend may have found most people in Chico tucked away in their homes, rejoicing over the long-awaited rain.
But not A.O. — a collection of adventurers were settled two hours north of town, playing Mafia around a campfire under a makeshift shelter and eating Dutch Oven peach cobbler at the base of the towering 6,500 feet high, once-glacier, now granite, mountain known as Castle Crags.
Named for its castle-like dome surrounded by spires of granite, Castle Crags State Park is located two hours north of Chico just off Interstate 5, shortly before a northbound traveler would reach the Mt. Shasta.
After a night of listening to the rain beating down on tents, a steep two-and-a-half mile trail brought the group of hikers from the camp-ground vista point, through the rainy forest, and to white rocky crags overlooking a fog-filled valley.
Photos by Justin Zazzi.