Getting there: From the bay area to Mt. Shasta is a long and dull 4.5-5 hour drive. Most of the drive is through a dull stretch of the central valley until you get closer to Lake Shasta and the mountain itself.

Campsites: We didn't so much stay in the designated campsite as much as we just kinda picked a spot and set up our tent right next to Panther Meadows. Pick a spot a little off the main road as traffic goes up and down that road all day and night as people launch from the Bunny Flat trail head at all hours for their accent of Shasta.

The Park: It's amazingly beautiful. Shasta is a real gem.

What to do: Try the technical climb of Mt. Shasta. There are two ways to do this; backcountry ski skin accent and mountaineer accent. Both have unique advantages and disadvantages. I ended up doing the BC ski accent/decent. This option requires you to carry a ton more weight for the hike up, but a much faster and more fun decent. Be sure to get a summit permit before climbing the mountain. A permit is require for all climbers ascending above 10,000'. I believe it was about $25

The Gear: I took with me my Marmot Aplinist Jacket. This is my first season using this coat and it's a great piece of gear. The coat is designed to work with Alpinist (and ski) gear as the name suggest. Pockets are high, remaining accessible with a backcountry pack on. The hood is large, so that it easily fits over my climbing helmet. The ventilation is abundant, so that I could quickly adjust my temperate on the fly with the changing weather conditions. The temperature on the mountain ranges from 80*+ at the base to below 30* up top with heavy winds. Some parts of the accent were rocky and exposed. The jackets durability held up well to the abuse of rubbing against rocks and the edges of my skis on occasion with no tears or rips at all. At night when we were done climbing for the day and were around the campsite on the mountain the jacket layered well with a down mid layer. But my favorite part of the jacket is it's fit. The Aplinist jacket has an athletic cut, so that there wasn't a bunch of extra fabric all over the place getting caught in pack clips or flapping in the wind (and it looks great on you). An athletic fit usually means restricted range of motion, not in the Aplinist. Even with it's athletic fit I had full unrestricted range of motion with my arms, head (even with the helmet and hood on), and torso. Verdict: Field tested, Ranger recommended! For extreme and diverse conditions this jacket is amazing. The only downside is the weight as you would want a different coat (Marmort Precip for example) for longer backcountry treks or more moderate weather conditions. Check out the coat at: marmot.com