We'd see an ad for the fairly new camping cabins (basically wooden tents - heaters, but no electricity, you cook for yourself (stove or fire ring), and there's a central toilet/shower facility) at Manzanita Lake. We made one of them our base camp and it worked out great! Had we wanted to actually camp (i.e., sleep on the ground) our options would have been limited because - despite the lack of the usual (or what was usual) snow pack - not all of the campgrounds were open yet. Seems the schedule is the schedule regardless of actual conditions.
DAY 1: Lassen Peak & Bumpass Hell
This is the first year in several years that the trail up to Lassen Peak is fully open all the time and so we made testing it out our morning activity.
The trail is basically a well-graded ramp that takes you gradually but steadily upward. It looks easy but the starting elevation (8500') and the lack of shade can surprise folks who start up it in flip-flops with a half can of warm Pepsi.
The weather was perfect (but got warmer and warmer as the week went on) and we had views everywhere - here of Diller, Pilot Pinnacle, and Eagle.
Ever upward, with the parking lot and Helen Lake growing smaller and smaller...
There was only one 100' long patch of snow left on the entire trail.
The last remaining "teaser" trail sign pops up shortly before the summit.
Then the trail reaches the flatter, lower summit with its bevy of interpretive signs,
but the actual summit is a rocky point further to the NE.
From there, we had a 360 view and could see Shasta to the N (with the wind farm at its base), as well as smoke coming in from the Buckskin fire in southern Oregon. Later in the week a fire would start near Lake Tahoe and it would send smoke into the Lassen area.
We'd gotten an "early" (8 am) start so we only encountered 5 people on the way up. But coming down two hours later, we passed 60 or so coming up! Hike early to avoid the rush. After lunch at Emerald Lake, we decided to visit the Bumpass Hell hydrothermal area with its steam vents, bubbling mud pots, and boiling lakes.
Compared to the peak, this area was a zoo - with a full parking lot and people all along the 1.3 mi trail to the "hell." Despite the park service's numerous warning signs, only about 1 in 10 seemed to have any water or decent shoes. Sigh. After this short hike, we reached an area of exposed vents and fumeroles, with a walkway to prevent folks from falling in (as did poor Mr. Bumpass way back in the day).
There were no geysers a-la-Yellowstone, but plenty of steam vents and a distinct - sometimes intense - sulfur odor. Yes, a tourist attraction, but well worth the short hike!
Lassen Peak (yellow - 5 mi RT, 1950' EG) and Bumpass Hell (red - 3 mi RT, 300' EG) - easy hiking but amazing views and scenery!
DAY 2: Summit Lakes Loop
This is also called the Cluster Lakes Loop and appears as such (Hike #23) in Lautner's Northern California PCT Section Hikes guide.
We picked it because it promised - and delivered - a tour of the most concentrated collection of lakes in the park, starting with Summit Lake right at the TH. Lassen Peak is in the far background.
Despite the low snow/water year, there were still quite a few flowers blooming along the trail.
After a "gruelling" 500' climb, we got a view of Lassen
and then turned N on the trail toward the Bear Lakes. Unfortunately, about half way to the lakes, the trail leaves the forest and enters the devastation wrought by a fire in 2012. I was once again struck by what I'd missed by not taking time on earlier visits to go hiking rather than just focus on the peak. Double sigh.
About 1.5 mi into the burn,
we reached Little Bear Lake,
and then,
Big Bear Lake.
Beyond Big Bear, we turned S past Silver Lake (with Lassen in the distance),
then through flowers and other small plants starting the long, long process of restoring the forest,
past Feather Lake,
to a junction with the PCT back in the unburned forest.
A short ways down the PCT, we came to a lunch spot on the shores of Lower Twin Lake.
After lunch - and in rising heat - we turned W and climbed up past Echo Lake,
to complete the loop with a return to Summit Lake.
Despite the burned forest, this was a great hike past some of the nicest lakes in the park (12 mi RT, 1200' EG). Unlike yesterday's "crowds", we saw only about a dozen people all day - none on the N part of the loop and most between the TH and Lower Twin Lake.
DAY 3: Cinder Cone
There's a feature in the NE corner of the park who's name - Fantastic Lava Beds - just called out to us. Who would not want to hike to see fantastic lava beds? Not just big lava beds (Big Lava TR) but fantastic ones? So off we went...
The TH is at Butte Lake and starts off level past some amazingly huge Ponderosa pines,
through an area that almost looks landscaped,
before opening on our goal - the Cinder Cone and its promised overlook of those lava beds.
The 750' climb up this pile of cinders was easier than it looked from a distance but was still best done with a steady, plodding pace to minimize slippage. It also helped to have gotten an early start since those unshaded cinders were rapidly on their way to hot and toasty.
But the view from the top of the cone was well worth the plodding, with Lassen on the horizon,
the cone itself (arrow shows a person for scale),
Prospect Peak (an old shield volcano) to the NW,
and the Fantastic Lava Beds encroaching on Butte Lake.
All of the huge piles (50+' high in places) of black lava came out of the sides of the Cinder Cone and then parts of it were covered by ash from the Cone to form - after oxidation - the colorful Painted Dunes.
Going down the S side of the Cone was more fun if you remembered to wear gaiters,
but well worth it for more views of Lassen and a closer look at the Painted Dunes.
A short (4 mi RT, 850' EG) hike to a neat summit with views of what are truly fantastic lava beds!
On our last night, a few clouds crept in over Manzanita Lake to give us a colorful conclusion to what had been three wonderful, perfect weather days for our explorations of the park.
