Lassen Volcanic National Park rocks until fires catch up with us
...will we have to keep fleeing?
I’m from a state, Hawaii, that’s built on volcanoes. Little did I know that there were four major dormant ones clustered in Lassen Volcanic National Park, only about six hours drive from our spot on the Russian River. Our next major destination after Yosemite was Lassen, and in the spirit of being better informed, I looked up some of the basic facts:
Lassen is one of the relatively small national parks at only 166 square miles.
Lassen’s main attractions are the four volcanoes and related geothermal activity around them. These volcanoes are three different, distinct types and include a plug dome volcano, shield volcano, and composite volcano, each of which has a different appearance and features.
Numerous small lakes, streams and hiking trails through conifer forests are the park’s main visitor activities, though there are some geologic attractions to experience.
Lassen’s last eruption occurred in 1916; though considered dormant, the volcanoes are predicted to erupt again at some point.
We attempted to visit this park three different times before, usually in spring when trout season opened, because we both love fishing the Hat Creek outside the park’s northern gate. Because that’s been our focus, we had tried to access Lassen from near the town of Burney. But all three times, the park was closed from that direction due to snow on the mountains late into the spring.
This time, our approach was through the Southwest gate along Highway 89 after that overnight stop on the Carson River. (We resupplied at Trader Joe’s in Reno on the way; we highly recommend their prepared meals-in-a-bag for easy, nutritious dinners on the go.)
Lassen’s stunning views approaching from the Southern gate surprised me after having seen the first ten miles of the park from the northernmost gate, which consisted of a Ponderosa pine forest of monotonous trees. The southern approach was entirely different and refreshingly so.
The approach to the park was a well maintained road gently ascending to showcase huge dormant volcanoes surrounded by open vistas. We parked at the entrance gate and toured the spacious and well-appointed Kohm-yah-mah-nee Visitor Center (though I sat outside for the most part because it was too hot to leave Koa in the car, and pets were not allowed.)
Once past the park’s entry, entire fields of wild mules’-ear daisies just coming into bloom caught our attention. I rolled down my window and hung my head outside to enjoy sweeping, grand swaths of colorful volcanic-stone mountainsides studded by the bright daisies along with silverleaf lupine and the white stars of coyote mint. All this grew among well-spaced, healthy conifers of a variety of types watered by snowmelt runoff from the stark crags nearby.
I was hot and tired from the long drive through Reno and wrestling shopping carts at Trader Joe’s, so it was a lovely treat when Mike put the truck in first gear so we could meander along slowly, enjoying a relatively cool breeze blowing off the chilly creeks and bubbling sulphuric mud pots we passed. Small, crystal-clear lakes lined with even more wildflowers dotted the drive, and I don’t remember enjoying a park’s scenic route this much since Glacier’s famous Going-to-the-Sun Road.
We found our campsite at a small lake. After we set up, we rode our e-bikes around the area, exploring. The lake had warmed enough to swim in, so after Mike did a bit of fishing, we went into the tea-colored water together. I floated on my back, watching sunset streak the water until Koa barked from the shore and called me in.
The next morning Mike and I decided to do a two-mile hike to King’s Creek Falls, rated “easy—two stars” on the park’s map. The trail led to a waterfall that looked quite grand in pictures. We went rather spur of the moment and didn’t eat breakfast or bring water, thinking we’d be back within an hour.
This turned out to be a tactical mistake.
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