Below is a view o f Lassen Peak which last erupted in 1915, from Manzanita Lake near our campsite.
Another view of Lassen from a spot called the Devastated Area which was on the path of the eruption in 1915. In a few minutes a whole forest disappeared due to the explosion of the side of the volcano. As this picture can attest, it has since completely regrown but you can see huge volcanic rocks that were ejected from the volcano and crashed all around.
We decide to hike up to Paradise Meadow which is a very correct way to describe it. On the way, we see a lovely little creek flowing down the flank of the mountain.
Near Lassen, you can even see snow (and we are in July!)
View from the other side of the mountain, near a hydrothermal active spot called Sulfur Works. The picture can’t show it but the air is filled with the smell of rotten eggs.
Lassen Peak with a cloud cover.
A view of the whole valley. The peaks on the right side were part of one much larger volcano that exploded 40,000 years ago.
Later in the day, we decide to go to Bumpass Hell, one of the big attractions of the park. You can see geysers, colorful lakes bubbling with gas and activity. The place sounds like an old train engine, with sounds of steam blasting out. The water is very hot and you need to stay on a wooden path.
To start, here are a few videos, followed by some pictures.
After leaving the Bumpass Hell area, we continue our hike and get away very quickly from the crowds. We are going towards Kings Creek and the views are purely magnificent.
This lake is called “Cold Boiling Lake” due to lots of little bubbles coming up at the surface of the water.
Back to camp, we decide to go and watch the sunset on Lassen Peak and the Chaos Craggs next to it. from Manzanita Lake. The picture below is the Chaos Craggs. The colors change every minute.
As the sun disappears, we are rewarded by an unexpected spectacle: a moon rise from between the 2 mountains!
The final day of our trip, we go visit another area of the park where you can see one of the largest lava cones in the world. It is called the Cinder Cone. It is super hard to walk around it as everything is basicly like black sand. Not far from the Cone, there is a very nice lake called Butte Lake which a huge Lava field next to it. We spend the day around the lake, going for a swim and enjoying the warmth.
This concludes the last chapter of this trip. We had lots of fun and saw many great things. Northern California is so rich of very different kinds of landscapes and moods, it is really pretty hard to visit everything (still lots of places we haven’t been).
The photo of the moonrise is really magnificent. 🙂