As pulled into Redding, CA (where we will be staying the couple days) we were greeted with a sight that gave us caution. You see, tomorrow we are going to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park which blew its stake in 1915 and the first thing we see is Mount Shasta spouting smoke out it’s top. Or is that just clouds?
On June 10th we drove to Lassen Volcanic National Park.
This burned area in the park was started by a lightning strike on July 23, 2012.The fire was initially managed for resource benefit. Once the fire moved beyond pre-determined boundaries, fire crews began suppression activities. The fire was contained on August 22, 2012 and affected 28,079 acres of the 106,362 acre park. Although fire can be disastrous, fire is necessary to maintain a healthy forest.
Lassen Peak’s May 1914 eruption launched three years of sporadic volcanic outbursts. In the largest eruption on May 22 1915, the peak blew a huge, mushroom-shaped cloud of ash over 30,000 feet onto the air. Congress made this area a national park in 1916 because of the eruption and active volcanic landscape. We walked on the trail where several large boulders were once on the mountain but were moved 3-5 miles by mud slides that were created by melting snow from the heat of the blast.
Lassen Peak as seen from the side that blew away during the eruption. As you can see, it has taken 100 years for the forest to come back.
There were several small lakes along the road as we drove through the park. The mist would appear and disappear within minutes.
We stopped at Bumpass Hell outlook to take the trail to view some of the thermal activity in the park. Unfortunately for us, the snow was still blocking the trail so it was closed.
The road had just recently been opened so there was still quite a lot of snow near Lassen Peak.
Fog and clouds were part of the scenery as we rose in elevation but cleared off later in the day.
We finally got to some thermal activity at the Ridge Lakes Sulphur Works where there was one mud pot and some steam vents.
Other than the thermal activity Lassen has another rare feature. That is it is one of a few areas in the world that has all four types of volcanoes.
Below is a Snow Plant which is actually a fungus.
Just before we left the park we stopped at Manzanita Lake where Sandy wanted to take a couple pictures of the light fog on the lake.
She noticed the kayakers and boaters were making a mad dash for the shore.
This picture was taken 6 minutes after the first picture. I guess those boaters know the signs of when to get off the water.
Until next time,
Dave and Sandy
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