Cedar Basin is about 14 miles west of Lake Siskiyou at an elevation of ~6000 feet. This area was proposed as a Natural Resource Area in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest because of its rare plants and Port Orford cedars. Port Orford cedars are usually found in northwestern California and southern Oregon, but a few have been found east of the town of Mt. Shasta. Near the coast, this cedar is threatened by the pathogen Phytopthora, but the trees here have not been infected.
This area is very beautiful, but has been over-visited. A very rough road leads to Cliff Lake, a small mountain tarn, which provides access to a private inholding on the lake, but it also brings in campers that are slowly degrading the area. Fortunately, few people stop at Cedar Lake, the first lake on our hike in. Here, there is a wide diversity of plants including California pitcher plant and round-leaved sundew, which we were able to locate. After identifying flowers around Cedar Lake, we walked up to Cliff Lake. While it was another hot day in Redding, the peak heat on our walk was 82 degrees at 1 PM on our return. ~David Ledger
