San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
TAKE THE LEAP INTO PARAGLIDING OFF AN ANCIENT VOLCANO.
For the adventure enthusiast, nothing beats the smorgasbord of outdoor offerings in California’s rugged north. The region is dotted by dazzling lakes, home to glacier-capped volcanoes and united by a chain of national forests. It represents a vast expanse of opportunity.
Which raises the questions: Why just scale a mountain when you can paraglide off it? Or hike above ground when you can trek through lava tubes? Or ride a personal watercraft when you can zoom above a lake on a waterpropelled flying bike?
The Shasta area has all that and more. Here are five of the region’s wildest activities for you to embark on this summer.
Jetovate on Lake Shasta
Picture this: You’re seated on what looks like a dirt bike without wheels, but instead of catching air on single track, you’re flying as high as 65 feet above a lake, busting loops and twirls. Welcome to jetovating.
“You feel weightless, you’re up in the air, you’re flying off water pressure,” says Joe Natale, owner and operator of Norcal Jetovators. “It’s almost like Ironman or Superman.”
A jetovator takes the form of a bike, board, or chair connected by a hose to a personal watercraft and propelled by water pressure. (The thrust is moderated by your instructor, ensuring that you don’t zoom out of control.) It’s a wild ride, but since a jetovator is controlled either by body weight or handles, Natale says anyone can get the hang of it quickly—“it’s as easy as driving a car—but you’re doing 1,440 spins.”
Norcal Jetovators operates at Lake Shasta. A 30-minute ride starts at $90. A full day runs $1,000 for up to 10 people.
Kayak Whiskeytown by moonlight
Far away from the light pollution of big cities, the Shasta Cascades are known for their dark and very, very starry nights. Opportunities to stargaze abound, from Lassen National Park’s annual Dark Sky Festival (Aug. 2-3 this year) to star parties hosted by the Shasta Astronomy Club.
But no stargazing beats the jawdropping beauty and serenity of being on open water under the night sky.
In June, July and August for several days before the full moon, park rangers lead moonlight kayaking tours of Whiskeytown Lake at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. The tours begin at 7:30 p.m. so paddlers can get comfortable on the water before darkness falls, and last until 10 p.m., giving you plenty of time to soak up some moonbeams.
These popular tours, which leave from the Oak Bottom Marina parking lot, must be booked in advance through Reservation.gov and are an absolute steal at $1 per person (just the cost of the online processing fee).
Paraglide in the Cascades
If scaling a glacier along the flank of Mount Shasta strikes you as passe, perhaps you’d enjoy soaring around it instead. AirXpansion Paragliding takes guests soaring 2,000 to 3,000 feet in the air for guided tandem flights. There’s no motor, just a wing and controls. You’ll cruise thermals and drink in spectacular views of Shasta’s snow-capped peak.
Twenty-minute flights start at $225. Want to be the pilot? AirXpansion offers a one-day intro course to paragliding ($225) as well as a 10-day certification course ($1,600, plus gear). Flights take off year-round, but paragliding depends on the weather and conditions are best April through October.
Cave through lava tubes
The Shasta Cascades are part of the Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanoes and seismic activity that encircles the Pacific basin, and the region riddled with lava tubes — tunnels created when lava hardens on the surface but is still flowing below. The lava eventually drains away, leaving hollow tubes with patterns and sometimes stalactite-like formations from the hardened flows.
Near the Oregon border, Lava Beds National Monument has a network of 20 caves, most of them along a 2-mile loop road. Some of the caves are large enough to stand and walk through into ones with ceilings only a foot high. Mushpot Cave, the only one with lights or interpretive signage, is good for beginners, but many of the others are well worth a visit (bring your own flashlight!). Skull Cave has stairs down to a floor of solid ice, while Big Painted Cave has Native American pictographs, and Golden Dome cave has a gold-colored ceiling caused by light reflecting off water that’s collected on bacteria.
Closer to Redding, check out Subway Cave. This lava tube is only 1,300 feet long but has chillingly named sections, including Stubtoe Hall, Lucifer’s Cul-de-Sac, and Rattlesnake Collapse. Like most tubes at Lava Beds, Subway Cave is self-guided, free of charge and totally dark, so bring a flashlight or headlamp and a warm layer — even in summer, cave temperatures
hover in the mid-40s.
Tap into Mount Shasta’s spiritual energy vortex
Shasta isn’t just a favorite with mountaineers; it also draws spiritual seekers from around the world. The mountain has always been sacred for indigenous tribes, and has gained a reputation as a place of enlightenment thanks to the energy vortices, also called portals, people believe it contains.
If you want to tap into your higher consciousness or need an energetic tune-up, Shasta Vortex Adventures can help connect you to the mountain’s power on its full- or half-day Sacred Sites tours (starting at $88).
Expeditions are tailored to participants’ desires and involve easy to moderate hikes to various spots on the mountain believed to be energy vortices, sacred springs or magical meadows. Once there, guides lead participants in meditation and exercises to help connect with the natural environment . Whether you choose to go with a guide or connect with the mountain’s energy on your own, the Winnemem Wintu people, who consider Shasta sacred, have a helpful primer on how to visit respectfully.
Lindsey J. Smith is a freelance writer in San Francisco. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com