#32: Lassen Volcanic National Park

When I think of “Northern California,” I mostly think of the San Francisco Bay area. At least I used to. I guess that’s correct, but there is so much more to California north of the Bay area. And I made sure to explore it.

The drive from Truckee to Lassen Volcanic National Park is about three hours. Because I didn’t leave Truckee until the afternoon, I decided to break up the drive by stopping at Hallsted Campground in the Plumas National Forest. Here, I met Joe and Steve. Joe was the camp host, and Steve was camping there for a few nights. I got to chatting with them in the morning, and they helped me a little bit with my trailer. Steve introduced me to using a drill to lower the stabilizers on the Basecamp (which is so much easier than using the manual tool), and Joe provided comic relief. It’s just so fun - and helpful - to meet people on the road.

Steve on the left, and Joe on the right.

After a campground shower, I said good-bye to my new friends and hit the road for Lassen Volcanic. The drive was beautiful.

I snagged a two-night reservation at Manzanita Lake Campground - and thank God I did. It was crowded. With COVID, more people were out camping, not to mention July is peak season. After locating our campsite, Addie and I drove some of the park and stopped by the visitor center to figure out our plan to explore.

The following day, our first stop was to the Devastated Area, damaged by the last eruption of Lassen Peak in 1915. This interpretive trail showcased the hurt caused and featured different types of rock formations as a result. I nerded out a bit here.

We continued our drive, passing Summit Lake (beautiful alpine lake), with an area called Sulphur Works as our destination. This is where things began to heat up, literally. They say that if you’ve been to Yellowstone, these particular hydrothermal natural wonders are not too impressive, but I beg to differ. I was very impressed and found myself just staring at them until Addie barked at me out of boredom. It’s tough to capture the experience in photos - you will have to check it out for yourself!

Driving to Sulphur Works, I noted a few shorter hikes that I wanted to take. After lunch, I headed back out. Addie was okay in the trailer as the temperature wasn’t too high. A trail called Bumpass Hell was the first on my list.

This 2.6-mile moderate hike is named after Kendall Bumpass (pronounced “Bump-iss,” but I like to say “Bump-ass” - hehe). Upon arriving at this area, he fell into a thin boiling crust and severely burned his leg. The hydrothermal area on this hike is the largest in the area; therefore, I didn’t want to miss it. As you can see in the photos, an extensive boardwalk allows visitors to get an up-close view of the boiling mud pots and steaming pools - without getting dangerously close.

I explored one more area of the park and made my way to a lake called Cold Boiling Lake. I expected something much more impactful than what I found, but the hike was still beautiful.

The following morning I enjoyed coffee with some campsite neighbors - two older female friends who occasionally meet up at parks. One of the women was 75-years old and regularly traveled solo in her 1980’s VW Westfalia. I was amazed. Life on the road is challenging, and doing it single at 75-years old is (as I can imagine) is likely even more so. Props to her! She was so inspiring.

After coffee, Addie and I were on the road again to Mount Shasta.