By that, I mean, I’m high in California’s latitude and about to get higher in elevation, because today, I tackle Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park!
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I arrived last night in the dark and a wild tempest! It was super scary driving toward the black, boiling clouds and flashing lightning, but I made it, set up my tent in the dark at Manzanita Lake Campground, and woke up to a chilly mountain morning!
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A chilly and mystical mist drifted over Manzanita Lake, just down the trail from my camp, setting the stage for a magical day.
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Far away, Lassen Peak rose up like an icy titan just daring me to reach its summit! As a 10,463-foot active volcano, southernmost in the Cascades, it was not going to be a pushover!
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That’s right! Lassen Peak is still classified as active, which means it has erupted more recently than the last Ice Age! Specifically, its last major eruption was in 1915, scattering giant boulders like the one I’m perched on, and spreading ash 200 miles to the east! The cloud was visible for 150 miles, something we modern folks can glimpse thanks to the photography work of homesteader and photo enthusiast, Benjamin Loomis!
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A winding trip up the road past the snow line brought me to the trailhead. I wanted to get going as early as possible, because on a mountain this size, you never know how quickly the weather will change! There was a whole bunch of fresh snow on the summit last night! Also, this was the last day of the year that the trail to the summit would be open because of all the construction going on! Let’s get going!
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I immediately felt the elevation! Having lived at sea level for so long and starting around 8,500 feet, plus having to walk mostly in snow or slushy gravel, I got winded pretty quickly, which gave me time to look out and enjoy the grand views of Brokeoff Mountain and the beautiful details, like the wind-swept ice crystals clustered on the tree roots!
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Along the way, I passed the hard-working trail maintenance crew, spending their day in arguably the most beautiful office ever! They had set up surveying tripods along the trail that had giant icicles hanging down from their legs and looked like alien sentinels taking note of places to invade! It looked like the crew was doing a good job, but I was happy to get to the end of their work: the gate that had only opened a few times this year and wouldn’t open again until spring!
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Past the gate, the trees faded into dark rock and white snow, a beautiful contrast against the colorful vista beyond, just starting to show its autumn colors!
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At last, after a strong push, I reached the summit marker! Though surrounded by cold, I was sweating with exertion but now had the chance to sit down and take in the amazing view! The top of the peak is like a dark fairy land with its craggy caldera stones jutting out of the pristine snow. I sat in the middle of a herd of would-be thunderheads boiling and bubbling. It was such a perfect view that I wished I could have shared it with a friend. That gave me an idea!
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A few good pats, and a few swift sculpts, and Señor Castorieti bursted back to life! Boy, was he ever majestic in the red, white, and blue hat, perched high overlooking the fairyland. In fact, he was right in his element! He was so excited to be up high on a mountain this time that he wanted to start leaping from boulder to boulder! We did for a bit, but there was too much ice for my taste, and for good reason! Señor Castorieti did a graceful pirouette with a little too much grace and flew right over the edge! The hat floated gently to the ground at my feet. Poor Señor Castorieti!
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With Señor Castorieti returned once more to the magical snows, and darker clouds moving closer, it was time for me to head for warmer elevations. Ironically, that meant finding refuge at Bumpass’ Hell!
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I met a fellow traveler at the entrance, an eagle visiting from, of all places, Turkey! Together, we took a tour of the park’s largest hydrothermal area!
These thermal vents are a reminder of just how volcanically active this park still is! They took their name from mountaineer, Kendall Bumpass, who first spotted this hydrothermal area and made plans with his partner, Pierson Reading to mine it for minerals. Now we know how it got the first part of its name, but what about the second half? In 1865, Mr. Bumpass was guiding a group from the Red Bluff Independent newspaper around the thermal springs when his foot broke through the crust into the blazing 240°F mud! That’s 30 degrees above the boiling point! Nooooooo!
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Though Bumpass’ Hell isn’t as spacious as the hot springs of Yellowstone, but it is home to the hottest fumarole within a non-erupting volcano in the world! Called the Big Boiler, this steam vent boils at 322°F, way hotter than the vent that burned Mr. Bumpass! It’s big, and it’s growing! The churning and heat have been eating away at the edges so much that it has actually already devoured part of the boardwalk!
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The neat clouds from earlier had turned gray and ominous, which reminded me I still had some Lassen County historical landmarks to explore before the day was done! So, I said “So long,” to my new eagle friend, grabbed some lunch, and headed into the southeast! You can see some of the historical landmarks I found by clicking here!
Happy Trekking!
