THURSDAY & FRIDAY SEPT 3 & 4

THURSDAY & FRIDAY, SEPT 3 & 4:

      Days spent at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Both beautiful sunny days with fluffy clouds.

      We spent Thursday driving most of the length of the main national park road, which traverses from north to south for about 30 miles. Since we're staying at the north end, at a KOA campground near the town of Shingletown, we began at the north entrance.

      Our first stop was called Devastated Area – so named because when Mt. Lassen's volcano erupted in 1915, this is the path of destruction and devastation it left. There were excellent interpretive plaques along the short trail which explained what had happened, and gave the context. There were actually magma and lava build-up's and eruptions from Mt. Lassen all throughout 1914-1916. But the main event happened in 1915 . . . over a 3-day period, where the mountain finally exploded and sent boulders the size of cars flying a couple of miles away, where they sit today.

 

 

 

 

                                                              

A local businessman and amateur photographer and naturalist (B.F. Loomis) captured much of the drama on film just hours before the final big explosion, which occurred after he'd, fortunately, left the area. At the time, this was the only active volcano in the contiguous U.S., and the nation was captivated. Some 60 or 65 years later, it was eclipsed by Mt. St. Helens. The plaques reminded us that we were in a very active volcanic region – the northwest U.S. being part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” This national park was formed out of volcanic activity, and continues to be shaped by it.

      Despite its name, the Devastated Area is lovely! The beautiful fir and pine forest surrounding us reminded us of how God designed nature to regenerate itself after devastation. All of these trees are less than 100 years old.

This area also afforded us our first real look at Mt. Lassen, from the east. Too bad all of the snow was melted by now – just in time for new snow soon!

 

     We left this area and continued on the road south, with more views of Mt. Lassen. 

We stopped at Helen Lake for a wondeful picnic lunch, right under the shadow of the mountain peak.

 

 

 

 

 

     Our last stop of the day, and the most lengthy, was at Bumpass Hell. This is the largest hydrothermal area in the national park. We walked a moderate uphill 1.5 mile trail with grand vistas of mountain peaks surrounding us,

 

                                                             

 
 
                                               Last color of summer:

 

 

 

 

and then down a fairly steep ¼ mile or so to the hydrothermal basin.

 

                                                                        

 

 

It was very, very interesting – sort of a miniature Yellowstone – with mud pots,

 

 

 

 

                                                                       

  fumaroles, etc.

 

 

 

This whole park is fed by one thermal system . . . the volcanic mountains, the lakes, the hydrothermal features, etc. This particular area gets its name from a mountain man who guided some visistors into this area. I can't imagine what they thought when they first saw this place, with its steam gushing and roaring up, hot open vents, etc. Poor Mr. Bumpass accidentally stepped on a place where the crust was thin and his leg fell into boiling mud, which clung to his leg and burned it. He eventually had to have it amputated. We heeded the warnings to be sure and stay on the boardwalks!

 

                                                                         

 

But when we stopped to take a closer look and some photos, Bill leaned his walking sticks against the railing. Something disturbed them, and we watched helplessly as one slid down into its own little corner of everlasting hell!

          

                                                                                     

     That's as far south as we drove on Thursday. On Friday, we drove clear to the southern end of the park, where the Visitors Center is. A beautiful drive. We hiked a 3+ mile round trip trail which begins just behind the Visitiors Center to Mill Creek Falls, the highest waterfall in the park.

 

                                                                      

It was rated moderately strenuous, so we felt good about having accomplished it! We hiked through a lovely forest of red fir, pines, and some mountain hemlock, with some splendid views of surrounding peaks and valleys. 

 

                                                             

 

 

 

 
Even saw a couple of deer grazing.

On the drive home, stopped at calendar-perfect Summit Lake.

    

     Although we only spent two days here, we got a really good feel for the park and felt that we saw and experienced the highlights. Because Lassen Nat'l Park lies at the crossroads of two mountain ranges (Cascades to the north, Sierra Nevada to the south), and the Great Basin desert to the east, there's a great diversity of ecosystems and flora and fauna within its borders. On our park drives, we not only went through a variety of altitudes (from 5,000 to over 8,000 feet), but saw the evidence of different ecosystems – especially the types of trees. It's a small, lesser known national park, but we're glad we took the time and effort to get here.