Nathan's Stuff: We Climbed a Volcano.

 A few days ago we climbed a cinder cone*.  It was cool, I mean hot. It was dark gray. The reason it is that color is because its a volcano.  We were in Lassen Volcanic National Park. At the top we saw the crater. My parents couldn't go down but they let me go. The crater was giant. The hike was really fun.

*A cinder cone is a small volcano that shoots lava into the air.  The lava hardens and falls down creating the cinder cone. 

Going to Hell: Sunday

On Sunday we headed for one of LAVO's iconic features: Bumpass Hell (sorry, couldn't resist the bad joke). BH is a smoking, sulphur-stinking area of intense geothermal activity, including fumaroles, boiling mud pits, and the like. It got its name from Kendall Bumpass, an explorer in the late 1800s who accidentally plunged his foot through the thin crust of earth covering a steam pit. Needless to say, his day ended badly; however, he lived to tell the tale and even joked about his "easy descent into Hell."

We arrived early to beat the (small) crowds, but we weren't able to beat the wind, which whipped us around like you wouldn't believe. Undaunted, we put on our winter coats and made our way down the trail.

Having had enough of the netherworld for one day, we drove further into the park, had a picnic lunch, and headed toward to the much more benign (and less stinky) Kings Creek Falls trail. It was pretty much the polar opposite of Bumpass Hell. This trail was cool, shady, and wooded. And, instead of ending in a jumble of reeking mud pits, it ended at a beautiful waterfall. 

I can't say that Kings Creek displaced Whiskeytown in my top waterfall slot, but it sure was nice.

ALSO, we saw a bear on the trail! It was a small adolescent who was scampering off into the underbrush looking for food. This means that we have officially seen bears in 100% of the National Parks we've visited on the trip so far. That's a pretty good average.

Hiking on Volcanoes and Other Scary Things: Saturday

Lassen Volcanic National Park (or LAVO, as it's known in National Park alpha code) is, without a doubt, one of the unsung stars of the National Park System. We stopped here essentially because it was between where we were and where we wanted to be. Now, it's one of our favorite park adventures. In large part, this was due to the scenery, which was almost other-worldly in its beauty. But, unlike most of the grand parks in the NPS system, this one was nearly deserted. LAVO is about as remote as you can get in the State of California, so if someone is visiting there it's because they really want to be there. There's also very little in the way of towns or amenities around the park, so this place doesn't make it easy!

On Saturday, our eyes were opened to the amazingness of this place. We started with a short hike just to get out and see the scenery, and then made our way North to Manzanita Lake, which couldn't have been more gorgeous.

There was a campground with a small store there, so we were able to grab a sandwich and have a nice picnic lunch. But, even more exciting was the fact that the lake also had a rogue river otter. Seriously! There were signs all over warning of otter danger. We couldn't imagine what that might mean, so we stopped a ranger on the trail and inquired. Apparently, a protective momma recently thought a swimmer got a bit too close and pretty much whaled on her. The ranger said she needed "hundreds" of stitches on her face and may have lost an eye. Moral of the story: otters may be cute, but they are NOT to be messed with.

Our next stop was the cinder cone trail, which I mistakenly marketed to Nathan as a quick "mile or so" hike. I'm not sure what trail I was confusing it with, but the cinder cone trail was a 4.5 mile trek that ended in a grueling slog up the side of the cinder cone in sand at about a 45 degree incline. Seriously. 

It was one of the demoralizing climbs I've ever done on a hike. BUT, at the end, we were rewarded with one of the most unique sights we've yet seen in a National Park. 

I have a feeling that no Star Wars fan has ever climbed this his and not said Sarlacc Pit! Even with the false advertising, Nathan was a total champ. He all but sprinted to the top of the trail, and then, which Rachel and I sat and watched, he made a solo descent into the Sarlacc Pit ... I mean, cinder cone.

 

Howdy, Lake Almanor! (Mile 985)

 Yesterday, we started the long trek East as we headed over the coastal mountains and through the dead center of the state to Lake Almanor. More on that in a minute, but for now, let's say goodbye to the surprisingly awesome town of McKinleyville. We spent Thursday night enjoying the accommodations and made a pit stop at the grocery store to get snacks for the following day's journey. You have to love anyplace where you can see the "World's Largest Totem Pole" in a Safeway parking lot!

Friday morning, it was up, up, and away! As we merged onto Highway 299 east, I though to myself that we would be driving in this direction for the next three months.

About halfway to our destination, we stopped at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area for a little mid-day hike. I don't know why, but this sticker just tickles me half to death!

Well, we never did find the whiskey or the town, but what we did find was Whiskeytown Falls, which was probably one of the nicest waterfall hikes we've ever done. So often you tromp down miles of trail only to find a mediocre waterfall and about a thousand onlookers jockeying for the best spot to have their picnic lunch with a view. Here, we ran into maybe four people on the trail, and there was absolutely nobody at the falls. We had the whole place to ourselves! We dipped our heads in the freezing water and enjoyed the view.

On the trail, the air was clear and pure, but when we made it down to the lake after our hike, there was a brownish haze that reminded us of the wildfires not too far to the south. The rangers said that so far the park had been spared from the destruction, but we're still early in the wildfire season ... so fingers crossed!

Just before nightfall, we arrived in Lake Almanor at our new home away from home for the next five days.

We got the sense from our surroundings that Lake Almanor is one part of a common phenomenon in the West: a large, dam-made reservoir that's been colonized by seasonal vacationers with large motor boats. That said, the lake wasn't why we were here. We were here to explore one of the under-rated gems of the National Park System: Lake Almanor's majestic neighbor, Lassen Volcanic National Park. I'm sure we'll have lots to report on that soon!

And, here's where we've gone so far ...

And, PS, a very, very happy birthday weekend to my sister Kathy and her husband Paul, both of whom are, I believe, turning 35 this year. 😉

 

Nathan's Stuff: A Day Around the House

Yesterday was just a regular day around the house. I ate breakfast, read, went in the hot tub, did the dishes, read, did math, talked with Miles, helped make dinner, played frisbee, and ate dinner. It wasn't very exciting but it was fun.

Leaving the Redwood Coast (Trail Miles: 12.7)

The Arcata area ended up being an amazing first stop on our great adventure! Ten days was a long enough stay that I felt we were really able to settle in and really get a feel for the place, but it was short enough that it never got boring. We were also able to resume a little bit of "normal" life. We ate family dinners around the dining table ...

Nathan played in the back yard ...

We went to the beach to play frisbee ...

We took morning walks ...

We sat by the fire ...

And I was even able to keep up with my weekly virtual game night with friends ...

And, the house we stayed in was amazingly homey. We couldn't have asked for more! 

That said, all good things must come to an end, and we'll be leaving town tomorrow. We'll be a little sad, but ready for the next leg of our trip. Onward!

Nathan's Stuff: I Saw a Bear!

 A few days ago I saw a bear. It was a black bear, it was a young bear, it was an awesome bear. We saw it on a drive in the park. It had a light face and a dark body. I'm pretty sure it was looking for food, and we interrupted it. No matter what it was doing, though, it was cool.

Nathan's Stuff: Hike By the River

Yesterday we took a hike, not just any hike though. It was a hike by the river! It was 2 miles there and 2 miles back. This hike was a straight line so we got to the end, ate a delicious lunch, waded in the crystal clear water, and skipped some stones. Though I felt like the way there was longer than the way back, I felt like I noticed a lot more.

Redwoods Weekend: Sunday

End of the weekend ... better make it good, right? You bet! Today we were heading almost to the Oregon border, to the northernmost section of the park in Crescent City. Along the way, we (figuratively) ran into some of those oh-so-aggressive Roosevelt Elk that the signs warned us about.

Thankfully, the elk must have sensed our good intentions, because we all left each other alone, and nobody got hurt.

When we arrived in Crescent City, we headed off road again. This was the driving equivalent of the other-worldly feeling we had at the Tall Trees Trail on Friday. We drove into prehistoric canyons, down roads that were barely wide enough to fit our car - all the while weaving in and out between 300-foot tall redwoods.

At the end of the drive, we checked in at the ranger station, where they pointed us toward another amazing hike - this time, one that led us to a rocky beach, where we had a picnic lunch and spent a couple of happy hours chilling out and skipping stones. It was truly paradise.

On the way home, we made a quick pit stop at the gas station on the Yurok Reservation and met a car full of the most well-behaved poodles you could imagine. Almost weirdly well-behaved. Can you say Stepford Poodles?

 

Redwoods Weekend: Saturday

If Friday was epic, then Saturday was enchanted. The Tall Trees Trail, with it's secret passcode and Jurassic landscape was an amazing site, with its gray North Coast skies and the feeling that the sky was always on the verge of opening up. On Saturday, the sun came out with a vengeance! And, it was glorious. 

We made our way north to Prairie Creek, where we took a 4-mile stroll through the sun-dappled forest, surrounded by the redwood giants.

But, as beautiful as that was, it was the next adventure that truly knocked our socks off. North of Prairie Creek was a coastal scenic drive to Klamath that led us along a one-way dirt path that made me truly grateful that we'd invested in 4-wheel drive. The ocean vistas were incredible, but what really blew us away was turning a corner and finding ourselves face to face with a young black bear, making his way across the path.

Clearly un-phased by us, he ambled off into the bush, making his way down to one of the most amazing beaches I've ever seen. We pulled the car forward to see where he'd gone, and, as we looked down the cliffs, we saw that he was heading toward a sea lion haul out site. Sea lion for lunch? I don't know, but it made for an unforgettable moment.

To round out the day, we made a final stop at a nearby beach that featured the Fern Canyon trail. At the trailhead, we learned a valuable lesson: don't mess with the elk here. 

Apparently the females want to kill you because they think you're messing with their kids. The males want to kill you because they think you're messing with their ladies. Either way, we kept ourselves to ourselves and didn't run into any trouble with the local elk. But we did have an amazing hike in Fern Canyon.

Since we were right by the beach, we strolled out to see the sun set over the water and were rewarded with another amazing view. We were also serenaded by the local sea lions (who had apparently escaped our bear friend).

After a long day, it was time to settle into a the hot tub and start thinking about what Sunday may hold in store.