Summer'15 - Lassen Volcanic National Park

We did it again. We made a road trip. We didn't organize anything. We just packed our camping equipment and some cloth and drove North.
Our first destination was Lassen Volcanic National Park. Upon entering the park we thought we would stay a day and then drive on. But things usually end different than thought before. I bought a hiking map and on the way to the campground we already saw that it was impossible to leave this place so quickly. In the end we stayed 5 nights and hiked 5 incredibly nice and utterly different from each other trails.

The first day we started off easy. We camped on the Summit Lake North campground, where also the trailhead to the Echo lake is located. So off we go to Echo lake and after a short 2 mile hike we dive into crystal clear water. The lake just for us, no other hikers around. Since this was only a small tour, we decided to also do the short hike to Bumpass Hell, where it smells of H2S and sulfur is everywhere, hot boiling mud pits and steam. Totally out of this world.

I guess we have to stay longer - studying the trail map

View along the way

Rest on the first hike

View onto Bumpass Hell

Bumpass Hell 1

Bumpass Hell 2

Bumpass Hell 3

On day 2, we were a bit undecided. We drove up to the trail head of Lassen peak, which is the highest elevation in the park. We thought, why not try hiking up there, let's see how far we get. What can I say we made it to the top. It is a wonderful, strenuous hike with beautiful views. On top we were greeted by snow and built a small snowman.

The peak from a far

Trailhead

Lava formations along the way

The nutcracker

Almost at the top

We made it!

On day 3, we decided to do a round trip, the Kings Creeks falls loop. The hike started along the river mostly downhill with some nice little water falls. The way took us along dried up lakes, lava formations and idyllic meadows. We did not see the coyote which strayed around there, maybe next time.

Waterfalls

Rocky Road

Dried up lake

Luckily we found a nice lake for a rest and swimming pause- of course, we had the lake to ourself again!

Meadow

Day 4 was a bit rainy after a night with thunderstorms hitting the area. So our first stop was the Subway tube - a lava tube, which you can walk through with the head lamp on. This was an incredible feeling, back then we didn't know that we would crawl through even longer and tighter and higher lava tubes at the Lava Beds National Monument. After that short stop we drove up to the Butte lake, where the trail head to the Cinder Cone is located. Again, luckily it rained, even though it was more or less an on and off thing, because otherwise the way would have been really dusty. It is an amazing feeling to walk up there, one step up half a step down. We couldn't appreciate the painted dunes fully - but you always have to have something to come back for.

The boys in the tube.

Lava beds along the way to the Cinder Cone.

Lava beds detail.

The Cinder Cone from a far.

It's almost like walking on the beach, but uphill.

And of course - we made it!

View onto painted dunes.

The crater.

On the way out of the park the next day we stopped at an educational trail to learn about the devastation the eruption of the Lassen peak brought upon the area 100 years ago.

It was a very interesting stay. Besides the huge variety of trails, along which you learn a lot about volcanism, the park rangers offered every other night a program in the evening to learn about animals and trees which are found in the area. The kids could have earned their Junior Ranger badges, if we would have know about this before.  Surely, we can recommend to everyone to visit this beautiful Lassen Volcanic National Park - great mountains, great people.