Lassen Volcanic 2002

Detail
Friday Sep 20th - Day 1
Tim and I left Santa Barbara at 6:30pm to a destination outside Modesto. Orchard RV Park was the sign off the highway. We looked for the campground of the two I had found on the map but could not find it. Where was the entrance!? We went back to the RV park and crashed until about 5:20am. Still dark, I suggested we bolt; Tim agreed. Their bathroom was not well maintained. Another guy was striking camp at the same time as us. He actually was using a tent and started coffee in the morning. In the bathroom was a preying mantis covered with ants, a reasonably sized cockroach, and cats that entered at they wished. A vicious sign about men not using the women's room was rather humorous.

On the way up, we listened to a bunch of tunes: three compendiums of mine and a bunch of discs of Tim's. It was nice that we were using Tim's car for two reasons: 1) I don't have a stereo and 2) my car battery died while I was at Lassen.

Saturday Sep 21st - Day 2
Tim and I dined at Denny's for breakfast.

We entered the park around 10:15am on Saturday. There were road delays because of massive construction. The road became one-way for several miles. Fortunately, we hit this area only once on our excursion.

Making it to Summit Lake South campground, Loop E, we pitched Tim's roommate's tent. I noticed that one of the graphite poles was cracked, so Tim did a bit of fancy rope stylings with a yellow string. It was pretty warm at 7:15pm when we crashed, so I suggested taking the rainfly off. As the night became cooler, I started adding layers of clothing to myself until finally I was wearing sweats, hooded sweatshirt, and a wool hat.

Tim and I tried to find a particular trailhead near Summit Lake South campground, but were unable to find it. Tim asked a Conservation Corps gal if she knew where it was, but she wasn't too helpful and a bit rude, I thought. We eventually found a different trail that we took past an amphitheater, two signs, some horses, Dead Wood Lake, Flat Though Hollow, Little bear lake where we weren't able to snooze because of flies. We also saw rocks with deposits of something that indicated lake levels. Saturday night we slept 13 hours to make up for lost sleep the night before.

One cool feature of Lassen is that you can actually scavenge firewood! The lady ranger said it was because Lassen doesn't have the people count of other National Parks.

Sunday Sep 22st - Day 3
There were quite a few people doing Lassen Peak when we set out at 10:06am. Tim still did not believe the big white J was snow; he speculated on it being something that was not snow. The hike itself wasn't too long—it might have been a good "conditioning hike" in Santa Barbara. The views were clear and were of interesting vegetation and geological formations. We even saw Mount Shasta!

At the top of Lassen Peak was what looked to be a radio repeater owned by the park service. It was solar powered. I was able to make a cell phone call at this elevation, so I tried Wedge's home. I got hold of Ling who told me Wedge was on the road heading home from Copco Lake. I also mentioned that the Elmo eyes were not to be found.

1:40pm, finished Lassen Peak. We met a third grade teacher at the summit who couldn't afford a scanner and wasn't sure how to keep his transparencies from year to year. I suggested folders, and I think he picked up on the humor, but I'm not completely sure on this. We saw some great volcanic features, but Wedge's surprise was gone. We suspect hippies.

We then proceeded to Bumpass Hell, named after a guy named Bumpass. This was an awesome spectacle of extreme formations: pools with bubbling fountains, steam plumes, gray mud, sulfur stained lands, and the odor of hydrogen sulfide. The plank walkway was only in service part of the way so we didn't get to quite see everything. Although there was a trail going around the area, I—and I suspect Tim also—was getting tired and was ready to turn back. On the way back to the vehicle I found a purple ninja homey which will come into play soon in this narrative.

I do need to take a moment to discuss the white trash we saw at the Tehama panoramic area along the way to Bumpass Hell. The little girl was feeding a chipmunk a potato chip; and the mother encouraged the girl by saying "that's cute! Feed him another one." I was enraged but though better of saying anything. It took me several hundred yards of walking to burn off my anger.

On the way back to our campsite, we stopped to take some photos of Lassen Peak from a distance. Tim had forgotten his toiletries and had been using toothpaste on his finger up to this point. On the roadside, where we stopped, was a toothbrush. I pointed it out and Tim picked it up.

We made it back to camp early, so we gathered some free firewood from the now vacated sites—it was Sunday night, after all—then settled into relaxed diversions such as reading, burning bills, and sterlizing roadside-toothbrushes.

One important consideration should you do hiking of this nature is to bring a lot of water along. I used 2.5 liters climbing Lassen and the Bumpass Hell walk. The air is dry and you can expect nosebleeds.

Monday Sep 23rd - Day 4
Awaking to the sounds of large trucks from the North, I looked at my watch to ascertain the time to be 6:30am. Although there was a morning chill, I decided to get up. Soon breakfast was over, and we headed to Butte Lake campground—closed for the winter—to start a long day of hiking.

Our initial destination was the cinder cone. I noted to Tim that when there is only one of something, they don't even bother to name it; it is just called the cinder cone. Lining the left side of the trail was a verily impassive wall of lava rock—the "Fantastic Lava Beds." Soon we saw the cinder cone in the distance. Standing alone, stark and majestic, it was untouched except for one visibly steep trail to the top. It was about 9:30am when we started our ascent, the significance of this being that the heat of the day was beginning to become noticeable. Tim and I ascended at a moderate pace; the grind that brings you to your destination with minimal stops. A German man carrying a tripod started coming down the cinder cone, and, about half way up, we met, whereupon I passed a few salutations. He said that it was much cooler at 6:00am; I do believe him to be telling the truth.

We spent a good bit of time at the cinder cone, walking along the upper edge and descending into the center. Pictures will not do justice to the immensity and starkness of this bizarre phenomenon.

Tim and I hid the purple ninja homey under a rock, then left the cinder cone at the rear trail—a second trail not visible until we were at the top.

Now it was time to commence upon our long hike. We traversed a barren wasteland until we finally hit a forest of pines that looked rather young—supposedly the oldest would have been seeded in 1915. I did a rough calculation of the number of rings on a cut tree and it seemed that 87 years was indeed feasible. The forest was quite beautiful, the sun was shining, and the trail was well maintained. This made for some excellent hiking.

Our next stop was Rainbow Lake—a small lake with a sandy beach. I took off my boots and socks and waded in the water a bit while eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Tim, having run out of water, attempted to filter some from the lake. Unfortunately, the handle to the pump broke. Some things are just not meant to be made of plastic. Filtration was still possible, but arduous without the handle. Tim was, not unjustly, displeased.

Continuing the hike expedition, we happened upon Snag Lake. This lake is fairly large with a dry—actually muddy—lake bed on one side and the Fantastic Lava Beds on the other. There were even two islands. Tim wanted to take the path around the lake so that we would not retrace our steps. At the island, he had the idea of wading across the lake to get to the other side. The distance was non-negligible; so I was a bit leery of the suggestion; but Tim was determined and set out to cross the lake. As Tim forged on ahead, he realized the depth of the lake was more than he initially bargained, so he headed back to where I waited. He then decided to shuck off his clothes to his underwear, and with his possessions in his backpack—placed over his head—he commenced toward the other side again. While admiring his tenacity, and Tim making it about 90% to the alternate shore, Tim dunked under. His backpack floated, but soon was drenched. Tim swam towards the shore, then walked the rest of the way. Tim later asked me if I was indeed bowled over with laughter. Yes, in fact I was.

I wasn't going to attempt this same stunt, so I headed the long way around the lake across the muddy lake bed, finally meeting up with a soggy—yet not disgruntled—Tim.

After filtering some water, Tim and I sought the trail, then headed toward Butte Lake.

At Butte Lake campground, we picked up some ready firewood to bring back to our campsite at Summit Lake South. It was a long drive back to camp.

I built a fire, then dinner of Tasty Bites for Tim and mac-n-cheese for me ensued. Tim fried some apples for a tart and tasty dessert. It was time to crash.

Tuesday Sep 24th - Day 5
Headed back to SB by taking the northern route so as to avoid the road construction delay. The gas gauge was near empty, so we were a bit worried. There is a gas station towards the north gate, but it opened at 9:00am—45 minutes away. We asked the ranger at the gate where to find the next gas station; she replied Shingleton in 16 miles. Tim though we could make it, so we set out. Fortunately, we dropped a thousand or two in elevation which meant that Tim had it in neutral much of the way there. Gassing up, we started the long trek back to Santa Barbara. Tim drove most of the way. We dined at Karl's Jr.

See some images of the trip.