After breakfast at Best Western, we drove to
Lassen Volcanic National Park. Since we moved in from Mt. Shasta, we went on US-89, approaching Lassen from the north (this road is usually closed during winter).
Our first stop was at
Manzanita Lake. We hiked around the lake, enjoying the beautiful scenery. There were a lot of people kayaking and canoeing. We also saw several people fishing for trout.
Throughout the park, many fallen trees surround the lake. Some trees lay by the water and are fun to climb and walk on.
The whole of Manzanita Lake is very peaceful and quiet. The only sound is usually the birds, geese, or ducks.
There were many beautiful views of Lassen Peak.
Lots of people were enjoying leisurely kayaking on this beautiful lake. We are also bringing kayaks next time.
The water is so clear and pure everywhere - that one can see all the way to the bottom in most places.
The hike around the lake was not very long - it only took about an hour to circumnavigate the lake. The trail was, for the most part, very flat and easy. It was an enjoyable short hike.
After stopping at the General Store to purchase sandwiches and ice cream, we continued our drive through the park.
Our next stop was the "Hot Rock" near the road. This enormous boulder came from the eruption of Lassen and landed a few miles downhill. It was hot for many days. It's incredible how immense this "Hot Rock" truly is. It must have been an enormous force that brought it so far down the mountain.
We drove down US-89 and stopped in the "Devastated Area." This area of Lassen used to be entirely covered by trees. However, during the 1915 eruption, all of the trees were completely wiped out by the eruption and the ensuing mudslide.
These enormous boulders were thrown many miles from the peak of Lassen and landed many miles downhill. Amazing!
Notice the small trees in the photograph below. The trees here used to be tall and quite dense. The area has been slowly recovering since the eruption.
This part of Lassen has an excellent interactive exhibit explaining the details of the 1915 Lassen Eruption and the differences between different boulders found here.
We drove a couple of miles from here, stopping at a small waterfall.
We drove further to explore the nearby
Summit Lake. There is also a nice campground here (but we were not interested in camping).
The water of Summit Lake was so clear and pure. We could see the bottom of the lake. It was so quiet and peaceful, with almost no one present.
It's really another very peaceful area of Lassen.
From Summit Lake, we drove next to
King's Creek. There is a beautiful waterfall at the end of King's Creek trail - but we did not have enough time to go there and back. It would be a 2.4-mile hike round trip or about 2 hours.
The King's Creek Waterfall looks like the photo below. It's not very impressive compared to the Burney waterfall at
McArthur-Burney Falls State Park.
From here, we drove to the trailhead for the
Lassen Peak hike. The hike to Lassen Peak takes 4-5 hours. The trail starts at 8,500 feet and goes up another 2,000 feet in elevation, reaching the summit of 10,457 feet. Unfortunately, the trail was closed (it was being repaired), so I could not do the hike.
Notice the evil-looking eye in one of the rock formations in Lassen Peak. Lassen is watching you!
The hike really did not look too harsh for me.
From Lassen Peak trailhead, we drove toward
Lake Helen, where we decided to rest and have lunch. Lake Helen is a beautiful blue lake. The water was icy, fed by melting snow and glaciers.
Inna considered going swimming. We saw one brave person dip in the waters of Helen Lake. However, it was freezing, and she decided against it.
It's amazing how clear and blue the water is. We could see all of the pebbles deep in Lake Helen.
Having finished eating our sandwiches, we continued our drive toward
Bumpass Hell - the significant hike to see the hydrothermal features of Lassen Volcanic National Park. In many ways, this hike reminded me of
Yellowstone's hydrothermal features. The one significant difference is that Yellowstone has regular geysers, like the
Old Faithful. There are no geysers in Lassen.
The hike started in the parking lot, near a large boulder overlooking a deep canyon below.
The Bumpass Hell hike continues on a rocky trail with a nice cliff drop-off.
There is sparse vegetation, and the trail is almost always in the sun - which can be pretty hot even at this high elevation.
There are many boulders and small rocks on the path.
I saw a nice overlook of the valley below on one part of the trail.
After a while, we finally reached the hydrothermal area of Lassen Volcanic National Park. It looks like a miniature version of Yellowstone. The rotten egg smell of sulfur permeated the air and made it unpleasant to smell.
One is required to walk on a wooden platform that is elevated above the ground to avoid getting burned by the super-hot gases and water that circulate there,
There are many platforms to look out into the fumaroles (high-velocity steam jets) and pools of extra-heated water. Bumpass Hell is named after a settler who fell into one of the hot pools and lost his leg due to extreme burns.
I shot a short video clip of how these fumaroles and mud pools look and sound. It's something to smell and see and hard to describe in words or pictures.
Here is a steaming fumarole.
Some of the waters surrounding these
fumaroles look very green - as if algae is growing there.
Tired of the smell of rotten eggs, we returned to our car. The hike back was a bit uphill but did not take too long.
Our next stop in Lassen was
Emerald Lake. This lake looked incredibly green due to algae and other organisms that live in it.
Our next stop was Sulfur Works, another small hydrothermal area in Lassen.
From here, we decided to drive back home to San Jose. The ride was long but uneventful, taking about 4.5 hours.
