After departing from Redwoods National Park we drove five hours straight east towards the mountains of California to our next destination, Lassen Volcanic National Park. The drive took us from super-wet temperate rainforest to arid mountainous highlands. Above is a funky mushroom/fungus thing I spotted in the park.
Entering the National Park. We camped at Butte Lake Campground in the far northeast corner of the park. Over an hour and half drive away from the southwest area my brother and mom explored during their visit.
We had one full day to hike around the park so we decided to make it into a good one. We figured out a 12.5 mile hike that would take us to a variety of different landforms. Just a mile in to the hike we came across our first big obstacle, the Cinder Cone. This volcano is literally just a gigantic pile of cinder reaching over a 1,000ft into the air. Almost no living organism is found on the volcano with the exception of a few randomly scattered trees kept short and scraggly from poor growing soil and extreme exposure.
The trail up the volcano looked simple enough from far away. Turned out to be super steep and completely made up of thick loose cinder that was harder to walk in than sand.
Sarah climbs up the Cinder Cone. A very fascinating hike, nothing but cinder and sky.
Finally at the top, there were two things that impressed me. The views, and the wind. The wind was by far the strongest I have ever encountered in my life. A few times I took a knee to avoid falling over. Above is a view back towards Butte Lake with the "Fantastic Lava Beds" in the foreground.
The crater inside of the volcano. Just an immense hole, really mind boggling.
Above, Sarah braces against the wind with Lassen Peak in the background. Here, Sarah and I found a little shelter from the wind farther down in the crater.
From on top of the volcano we had wonderful 360 degree views. Here you can see what are called the Painted Dunes in the center surrounded by the Fantastic Lava Beds which extended for miles all the way down to Snag Lake which we would later hike around.
Sarah holds on tight to a dead tree to avoid getting blown away.
Heading down the backside of the volcano towards the Painted Dunes.
Sarah and I among the Painted Dunes. The farther we got into them the more surprised we were at there size. From way up above they looked pretty small, but some were at least 4 or 5 stories tall.
A view back towards the Cinder Cone. Looks like something you would expect to find on the moon.
After several more miles we reached Snag Lake and the end of the Fantastic Lava Beds. The literally just ended in the lake, forming the lake's entire northern shore.
At the far end of the lake we switched over from hiking along a trail through countless dead trees (snags) and dark cinder soil to a trail winding through green forest with plenty of wildflowers, pines, firs, and wildlife. Above is a creek at the bottom of Snag Lake which we ate lunch near.
We piqued this deer's curiosity.
Looking back across Snag Lake towards the Fantastic Lava Beds and the Cinder Cone.
Wildflower #36: Right along the trail. I have not the slightest clue what kind of flowers these are, but I do know they are pretty cool looking.
This interesting duck/coromorant of some sort was leading the way for all of its cute babies. I thought it was amusing the one decided to hitch a ride on mom's back.
A view south from the top of Butte Lake. The Cinder Cone stands tall in the center.
Almost to the end of the trek we come across this sign pointing the way towards a pile of logs across the lake.
We had already come this far so we decided why not, crossed the ever-moving, ever-changing bridge of logs, a lot of fun.
Sarah navigating the logs ahead of her.
After we crossed the logs we had a steep incline which took us up a couple hundred feet. It was a tiring climb so late in the hike, but we were rewarded with views of the lava formations spattered throughout Butte Lake. A bunch of little islands poked above surface giving the Fantastic Lava Beds the impression they had slithered out of the lake instead of the other way around.
With the hike coming to a close I started gathering firewood, we were to camp the night and then head to our next stop...Crater Lake National Park!
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