Lassen Day 2: Cinder Cone

Before leaving Lassen, we had one last adventure. We drove to Butte Lake, in the northeastern area of the park, and hiked to the top of Cinder Cone, a basaltic cinder cone which formed during two eruptions in the 1650s. The hike to the top of Cinder Cone is not long - about 0.8 miles to climb to the top of a 750 foot tall cone - but it is a steep slog on unconsolidated lava bombs and ash, so we were pretty tired by the time we reached the top. From the top, we had amazing, panoramic views of the area.

And the climb begins...

The view of Lassen Peak, which we climbed the day before.

Ammon beat me to the top...

...but I made it soon after.

At the top, Ammon takes in the view of the Fantastic Lava Beds (basaltic a'a) and the Painted Dunes lava flows.

Resting at the top.

Lassen Day 2: Bumpass Hell

Bumpass Hell is one of the other major sights in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is a geothermal area with hot springs and boiling mud pots, accessible via a 1.5 mile trail. Like the Lassen Peak Trail the day before, the trail was still covered in snow, leading to an adventurous tramp out there. 

On our way, we noticed a mysterious red coloring in the snow, which we assumed was some sort of impurity in the snow. But we met three scientists from NASA on the trail who told us the red stuff was a rare snow algae, which they were collecting to study and potentially send to Mars some day. How cool is that?

Boiling mud at Sulphur Works, a hydrothermal area just south of the trailhead to Bumpass Hell.

Bumpass Hell, as seen from the trail above.

Lassen Volcanic National Park: The Hike Up Lassen Peak

I have wanted to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park since 2001, when I heard about it as a freshman geology major at Stanford. The site of California's most recent volcanic eruption (in 1915), with a variety of different kinds of volcanoes (plug domes, shield volcanoes, cinder cones) and geothermal activity? One of the least visited national parks in the country, which is generally closed due to snow from October to June? Sounds amazing, right?

Well, my dreams of visiting were thwarted time after time, and I had never made it. So it was one of my biggest wishes to go there before I leave California. And so, despite the exceptionally wet, snowy year we had this year, and the fact that, as of the morning we left the road through the park had still not been fully cleared, Ammon and I set off for a snowy mountain adventure, in mid-July.

When we arrived at the park around 11:00 am on Friday, July 15, the road through the park was still not open to the summit, but you could drive to a parking lot about a mile south and walk along the road. We set off from there, not expecting that we would be able to hike to the summit. But the summit trail, though still covered in snow for about half the distance, was passable, and we ended up making it all the way to the top. At some point during the hike, the road was officially opened, and we looked down to see the first cars making the trip all the way through the park. As we hiked, we came across other hikers pleasantly surprised to make it to the peak. We felt lucky, like we had happened upon the first day of the season.

It was lovely. I'm so glad I finally made it!

Walking up the main road through the park, which would not be opened to cars until later in the day.

Lake Helen, at the base of Lassen Peak.

The Lassen Peak Trail parking lot, freshly plowed and ready to open. They had to dig the restrooms out of the snow bank!

Chillin' at the parking lot.

View from the beginning of the Lassen Peak Trail.

Ammon takes a rest from snow hiking.

We made it!

The peak.

Looking down on the park below.

Climbing back down the trail through the snow.

There were a few snowballs thrown.

And a few butt slides.

Rock Climbing at Table Mountain, Tuolumne County, CA

And my month of leisure continues: on Sunday, July 10, Ammon took me rock climbing. We drove out to Table Mountain in Tuolumne County, outside of Jamestown, where we met some of his South Bay climbing friends for a day at The Grotto, an area of basalt cliffs which is a popular local climbing spot. The grotto has large cliffs of columnar basalt, which forms when large volumes of basalt cool slowly and evenly. Above the columnar basalt is an equally tall stack of pillow basalt, which would have cooled more quickly, in an underwater environment. (Geo nerd!) According to the internet, Table Mountain formed when basalt flowed into a river bed, creating a hard cast of the river which has eroded more slowly than the sediments around it.

Since I am a very inexperienced rock climber, most of the routes here were above my skill level. I did make it up one climb, though. (Slowly, and with lots of falls along the way.) I also tried to go running on the surrounding BLM land. It was beautiful, but too hot for me to get too far without running out of water. I made it three miles before turning around and walking back.

Descending into "the grotto."

Columnar basalt on bottom, pillow basalt on top.

Ammon enjoys the view.

Me.

Ammon climbs "the refridgerator."

Caroline on her first trad lead.

Bruce belays.

Ammon watches.

The view of New Mellones Reservoir.

Adventures in San Mateo County

The theme of my July is leisure. I'm exploring the Bay Area, going to all those places I've wanted to go, with a special emphasis on beaches and ice cream. Two Saturdays ago (July 9), Ammon and I went to El Corte de Madera Creek Open Space Preserve to admire the redwoods, then down to Pescadero for lunch on the beach.

Ammon