Lassen Volcanic National Park-September 12-15, 2013

Gotta love friends who plan in advance. My good friend Heather who loves the outdoors and traveling booked a cabin at Lassen Volcanic National Park about 4 months ago. More specifically-Manzanita Lake pictured above. Luckily she invited me, GK, and Elsie to join her. There was extra room and so my dear running friends Lisa and Virginia also came along. Heather could not have picked a better time to make a reservation-the weather was absolutely perfect.

Before you judge us for calling staying in a cabin "camping," the cabin we stayed in was seriously basic-no electricity, no restrooms, even Elsie was prohibited from coming inside. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and took a picturesque walk around Lake Manzanita.

 Elsie takes water safety very seriously

Unfortunately national (and most state) parks are not dog friendly. Elsie was confined to a leash and not allowed on any trails. However, she entertained us the entire weekend by snapping at flies and accidentally hog-tying herself multiple times.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is home to smoking fumaroles, meadows freckled with wildflowers, clear mountain lakes, and numerous volcanoes. On Friday we decided to hike to Bumpass Hell and then on to Cold Boiling Lake.  

Back in the 1860s Kendall Vanhook Bumpass stumbled upon the area and his leg was badly scalded when it broke though a thin crust above a mud pot. He told his friends and townspeople about it, describing it as "hell." A newspaper editor was interested in the story and convinced Bumpass to take him to this place. Unfortunately, Bumpass' leg broke through the crust again - this time it had to be amputated. We chose to stay on the boardwalks.

After an easy 1.5 miles we were at Bumpass Hell. It's surprisingly unintimidating and striking at the same time. Sulfur filled the air while we checked out the fumaroles and bubbling ponds.

 Lisa, Virginia, & Heather obeying the rules.

 After taking in the sights at Bumpass, we decided to power on to Cold Boiling Lake for a longer hike. As we hiked away from BH-we found this great viewpoint-note the boardwalks in the background.

The hike to Cold Boiling Lake was moderate and less populated. The hike was beautiful and really showed off Lassen's scenery. However-Cold Boiling Lake consisted of one measly bubbling pool that could have been caused by an underwater frog. But Virginia, Heather, and Lisa don't judge and instead embrace the beauty. We stopped here to have lunch and within about 10 minutes, it started hailing. Couldn't have been more perfect. We finished our meal standing underneath the trees, catching ice chunks in our hands.

Survived the ice storm-Virginia, Lisa, & Heather. Entire hike was 6.70 miles.

While we were gone-GK & Elsie had some adventures in Lassen too.

Overlook to Helen Lake. 

On Saturday the ladies headed out to hike to the peak of Mt. Lassen but due to the heat and because the peak is actually only open a few times a year-they ended up hiking to Brokeoff Mountain. GK and I left the park to explore some dog friendly trails.

27-week belly shot

Elsie and I before the start of our hike.

 

The temperatures hovered in the low 80s. While there was quite a bit of cover, Elsie is sensitive. She typically hates water but when we neared Hat Creek she happily splashed around in it (only up to her ankles) to drink some water and then plopped herself down in the shade.

After our hike, GK took a kayak out on Lake Mazanita while I napped and Elsie guarded the cabin.

Unfortunately I failed to take pictures of all the amazing meals we shared. Since 3 of us are vegetarian/vegan-we had quite the spread-vegan Frito Pie one night, vegan fajitas, baked sweet potatoes with braised spinach and chickpeas in a coconut sauce, leftover breakfast burritos. I was also introduced to Cards of Humanity and will never think of musicals quite the same again. After 3 nights of relaxing and just plain enjoying ourselves-it was sadly time to head back to the bay area.

But not before we stopped at the Sun Dial Bridge in Redding:

A footbridge that crosses the Sacramento River and it's environmentally sensitive. The tall pylon and cable stays allow the bridge to avoid the nearby salmon-spawning habitat there are no supports in the water while encouraging public appreciation for the river. Apparently the Sun Dial only works on the summer solstice. But still-it's pretty cool. Plus they sell dairy free Italian ice.

Our family portrait. Getting Elsie to look directly at the camera has been one of my biggest challenges of 2013.

Lassen Volcanic National Park is a decent drive (5-6 hours) from the bay area if you leave at a time where you can avoid traffic. Another perk is that the roads are not that curvy and it would be pretty hard to get lost. The Manzanita Lake cabins were not only affordable but really convenient and allowed easy access to all that the park has to offer.