Camped out at the "dog friendly" Holiday Inn Express in Redding, CA last night. The temperature here in Redding is resembling those back home. As we pull into town, the thermometer is screaming 106 degrees. Originally, our plan was to do the CA Parks in July to escape the heat! Wrong!
Mt. Lassen last erupted in 1915 so outside of St. Helens, it is continental America's most active Volcano. When she blew her stack in '15, congress saw to it to preserve the area as a valuable thermal laboratory and inducted Lassen into the National Park system in 1916.
To this day, scientists keep a watchful eye on Lassen as her hydrothermal sections are still bubbling hot mud and spewing sulphuric steam from a number of vents throughout the western boundaries of the park.
Throughout our Trek, Terry and I have made no campsite reservations at any of the Parks...except for Lassen. We've been very fortunate to have found a site at each campground thus far...and I didn't want that string to end when we visited Northern California. I got online (www.recreation.gov for those of you wishing to make reservations at any campground in the Park System) and reserved site A05 at the Manzanita Campground for July 12th and 13th.
Ironically, when we departed Kings Canyon on Sunday (July 11) in route to Lassen, we discovered that "if you do not contact this office by 5pm on Friday (July 9th) your reservation will be cancelled!" What the....?
When we finally reached an area where cell phones actually worked, Terry called home to retrieve any messages that had been left while we were away. One such message was from the office of Recreation.gov. Apparently, I had underpaid them when I made the reservation back in June. Now, two weeks later, they're telling us that our campsite ressie has been cancelled!
Terry was a bit distraught at this news as I began to laugh at the thick irony of it all. I'm thinking we should have just showed up like we have in the past! Nonetheless, Terry gets on the phone and straightens out the situation. Site A05 is ours for the 12th and 13th.
Second irony. This campsite is the worst one we've had! The fly and skeed population (Binkelian for mosquito) is so prevalent , the C-Dawg chose to hang out in the tent! By the way, the best site at the Manzanita Lake Campground is D-7.
Manzanita Lake is located at the northwestern part of the park and is accessible from Hwy 44 about an hour east of Redding. Overall, the Campground is nice...if you don't mind winged visitors buzzing your ears!
Northern California had a late and rather heavy snowfall this past season. So much snow fell that the main road running from the Northwest entrance at Manzanita Lake on down to the Southwest Entrance did not open until July 8th. We arrived 4 days later. Last year, this road opened on June 4th.
Consequently, many of the main trails and attractions were still under snow...despite the 80 degree temperature!
The one hike I really wanted to do was down to an area called Bumpass Hell. Unfortunately, heavy snowfall and large rocks blocked the trail. Try as I did, I was unable to move the rocks blocking the path!
Bumpass Hell is Lassen's largest geothermal feature lying directly over a major plume of heated water rising above an active magma chamber. It is filled with smelly scalding hot acidic waters hissing from vents, bubbling mud pots and part of Kendall Bumpass's leg!
In 1864, Kendall Bumpass, a well known hunter and mountain man, discovered this part of the Park. He is also the first person known to have stepped through the thin crust of earth that separates man from boiling hot water! Alas, Kendall lost his leg in this hellish cauldron thus it became Bumpass Hell!
Unlike other Parks we've visited, Lassen was devoid a plethora of wildlife...unless you count the Flies and Skeeds! We did happen upon this doe munching on grasses about 75 yards down in a meadow below us. Good time to practice using the telephoto lens.
If you like the smell of warm egg salad sandwiches...you'll love Sulpher Works! Sulphur Works is a volcanically active area that once offered visitors hot mineral baths to visitors. The Park Service put a halt to that.
Care to take a mud bath? At Sulphur Works, you can lose your leg or other valuable body parts while coating yourself with scalding hot mud! Despite warning signs screaming "Do Not Touch"... people still want to feel for themselves. Idiots Stimpy!
I'm a real fan of snags. If you recall, a snag is a dead tree. Its purpose in nature is to serve as a perch for birds of prey. A home for rodents and insects. Deer use snags to sharpen their horns. Bobcats and Bears sharpen their claws. Snags serve as a soil stabilizer. And eventually, the snag returns its soil enriching nutrients back to the earth.
Snags also are rich in visual texture. And texture in nature is one of my most favorite things to seek out and photograph when hiking. The snags, the lichen, the minute wildflower blooms, the footprints in the trail dust, the scat...all very satisfying elements of any good Trek!
The only other noteworthy fauna in Lassen was the gaggles of Canadian Geese that abound around Manzanita Lake. These are rather fearless fowl allowing me to get within a few feet to photograph.
Manzanita Creek Trail
Because of the heavy snowfall, many of the trails in Lassen were still closed. The Ranger said the 3.3 mile Manzanita Creek Trail was open for about two and three-quarters miles before you hit snow.
Terry and C-Dawg took refuge in the Hob to avoid the Fly and Skeed invasion while I ventured out to explore this trail. As the Ranger stated, the trail was clear until I reached the 7000' elevation. As the above picture shows, the trail became covered with snow and mostly undistinguishable. Lunch on a log and then back to camp.
The other hike we did at Lassen was the Lily Pond Nature Trail...a short one mile loop thru the forest. This easy self guided trail introduces you to the amazing diversity of the forest and the wide variety of plant life that typically goes unnoticed.
The Trail points your attention to White Fir, Red Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Jeffrey Pine, Lodgepole Pine, Sugar Pine, Incense Cedar, Douglas Fir and Mountain Hemlock. Nine different trees that blend into one big forest...until you actually stop to take a close look at them.
This semi-retirement thing has been a good thing for me. I've learned to slow the heck down and actually look at the trees in the forest!
Happy trails friends. Next up...my favorite place on earth....Yosemite!
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