The next day after visiting Burney Falls, we drove to Lassen Volcanic Nat'l Park. Mt. Lassen is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range of the Western United States. The area is active with boiling mud pots, and stinking fumaroles. One of the most popular was the Sulphur Works. The first eruption was in 1914 with several eruptions after that. The last one was the most devastating, wiping out the entire forest. Along Hwy 36 huge volcanic rocks can be seen that are more than a million years old.
The entire trail switchbacks up to the summit. There are a few shady spots, but mostly it is exposed. Along the trail are awesome views of the many lakes below. The trail also has lots of kiosks with historical information and vista points, which makes it ideal for taking short breaks along the very steep trail.
Final half mile to the summit.
This was the fun part, crossing over snow before the final push to the summit.
Surprisingly, on the other side where you start to climb up to the summit, there was a lot of snow and scree which was not visible from the main trail.
Of course, I couldn't resist climbing these rocks. On the other side of these rocks is some earthquake surveying equipment. Whooohooo!! Summit pose.
BM
Stats: 4.2 r/t, gain 1950'
LASSEN PEAK 10,463
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Sean
- Cucamonga
- Posts: 4183
- Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:32 pm
Wow, that's an awesome-looking peak. Thanks for the report! Was there a name and date on the BM?
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Girl Hiker
- Posts: 1431
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tekewin
- Posts: 1328
- Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 5:07 pm
Awesome! Lassen is another one of those that's been so long, I don't even remember. Some day, it will bubble up to the top. Really beautiful photos.
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JeffH
- Posts: 1295
- Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2010 7:09 am
That is a cool hike. I've driven past there but never stopped - now you're adding to my list of things to do....
"Argue for your limitations and sure enough they're yours".
Donald Shimoda
Donald Shimoda