Hiking in Lassen
So today we drove up to the Lassen Volcanic National Park for a little hiking pleasure. We first tackled the Bumpass Hell trail, a 3-mile round trip that took us into a really cool active geothermal region. It’s about as close to the sights of Yellowstone that you can find in California. Fumaroles, mudpots, boiling ponds, unearthly-looking mineral stains on the ground–it’s all there.
We hadn’t been on this hike this late in the summer before, and it was a somewhat dry year to boot, so we noticed that there was less water/mud around. Not quite as exciting as it is in late June, when the trail first opens for the summer. Still, lots of fun, but the air at around 8k feet elevation is a bit thin, and the climb out was a grind that left me breathless in a few spots. Of course, I had it better than a tweener German girl who nearly had to be carried out by her father and brother because she couldn’t breathe.
After getting back to the car, we drove on to Kings Creek Falls, another 3-mile round tripper with a little more elevation gain/loss (700 feet vs 400 at Bumpass Hell). We’d never hiked this trail before, and what a treat it was. The trail hugs Kings Creek as it descends a huge series of cascades–probably something like 100 yards long, and dropping maybe 150 feet–that would make a heck of a water slide for someone with enough guts to give it a try. The picture below shows about half of it.
At the end, the actual waterfall takes a plunge of probably 60 feet or so.
All was good, until we reached the waterfall itself. there’s a viewing area at about the height of the waterfall’s top. There’s also a fairly technical little climb down to the creek level, and I decided to go at least halfway down to snap a few pictures. The boys and Lisa started to follow me down, and I got to a point where I told the rest of them that they should just stay put because the footing was a little treacherous. But even getting back up turned out to be a challenge, as Seth slipped, smacked his knee, and nearly went headfirst down the 40 or so nearly-clifflike feet to the creek. Luckily, he caught himself before tumbling all the way, but has a nasty bruise already forming to complement the abrasions. He was pretty upset, and Lisa and I were mildly traumatized by the “what if” moments (Lisa more than me, as I was taking pictures when it happened, so didn’t see it happen; she had a front row seat). The hike back up was strenuous, but fun; I loved it.
As we drove back down to Chico, we saw a half-dozen deer along the road, in various places. It was a nice addition to a great day.
August 04 2008 | Hiking and family | No Comments »