Part 3, Early October; Lassen Volcanic NP; Great Basin NP

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Lassen Volcanic National Park

Sunset over Butte Lake

We arrive as the sun sets.  The campground is full of campers, which makes sense as this is a Saturday.  At least half of the sites are occupied by tents, with a much younger crowd.  We fix dinner, enjoy the evening, and plan our tour of Lassen Volcanic NP.

After an early breakfast we head off to see the park.  The Loomis Museum at Manzanita Lake, is closed.  Benjamin Franklin Loomis was a local homesteader and photographer.  May 22, 1915, he photographed the Lassen Peak as it erupted, recording six images.  Prior to this particular eruption, there was local interest in making this area a national park, because of the volcanic activity.  But there was not enough interest to actually get bureaucrats in Washington to recognize the Lassen area.  B. F.  Loomis’ series of photos generated a lot of interest, bringing national attention to the area.  Within 15 months of the eruption President Woodrow Wilson signed the Lassen Volcanic National Park Act.

Remnants of the Dixie Fire

Manzanita Lake is essentially the north entrance to the park.  Kohm Yah-mah-nee (snow mountain) is the south entrance.  The 27-mile road between is replete with breath taking scenes.  In Lassen Volcanic NP, we see four different types of volcanoes; shield, plug dome, cinder cone and composite.  In addition, there are boiling springs, simmering mud pots, we hear roaring fumaroles, and smell sulfurous gases.  We also witness the evidence of the 2021 Dixie Wildfire which ravaged large areas inside the park, not to mention portions of our previous day’s drive between Mount Shasta and Lassen Volcanic NP.  Rangers at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee visitor center suggest several places to visit.  Some are right off the road; others require a short hike.  The park also has a large back country area for those wishing for longer trails and multi-day backpacking options.  

Boiling mud

Bumpass Hell

Our hike to the Bumpass Hell Overlook provides views of Lassen Peak in one direction, open and scenic valleys in another.  We smell and hear gases roll up the hill to the overlook.  The fumarole sounds like a jet engine getting ready for take-off.  An elevated walkway provides access to the scene.

Lassen Peak

Returning to Manzanita Lake we enjoy dinner at the lakeside picnic area.  Afterwards we wander along the shore enjoying the afternoon.  A further drive towards the north entrance provides beautiful views of Manzanita Lake with Lassen Peak forming the backdrop.  Tomorrow, we drive to the other side of the park at Butte Lake and a hike of a cinder cone volcano.

Milky Way
through the clouds

Low 40-degree temperatures greet us the next morning.  We pack, then head out for Butte Lake.  We have to exit the park the to the north, the way we came, driving several miles to the state road turn-off.  We decide it is better to invest in the $5.50/gallon gas for the truck than to run out far from the next gas station.  I’m glad we are not residents of the area.  Turning on to the graded dirt road we see major forest clean-up.  The Dixie fire went through this area too.  Men and machines work to cut down then pile logs for their final incineration.  Where they have worked the remaining forest looks clean, only those trees that survived the flames remain.  We pass several miles of ‘cleaned’ forest.

Arriving at Butte Lake we find we are the third family in the 50+ site, campground.  We tour the campground walking down to the non-motorized boat-lake.  One side of the lake is formed by a wall of lava that flowed from the cinder cone volcano.  From here we hike the four mile Cinder Cone Trail.  All along the trail we follow a 10 – 20’ tall wall of lava.  The trail itself is black lava sand, coarser than beach sand it is still a laborious hike.  The opposite side of the trail is open forest of various types of pine. 

Cinder Cone Volcano

Several hikers warn us of one to two black bears in the area.  They say not to worry, they are not paying attention to humans on their hikes.  As it turns out we did not see any bears today.  We continue on towards the volcano.  As we progress the skies darken, distant thunder rumbles, and light rain starts to fall.  The blustery winds cause us to stop and reconsider our hike to the top of the cinder cone.  We stand on the leeward side of a tree getting out of the wind.  

Looking into the cinder cone

I wonder at our decision as the wind keeps building.  We see blue sky coming our way, off in the distance, so we decide to wait out the wind and see what the blue sky brings.  We can see the cinder cone volcano from where we stand.  It is a steep pile of pebble sized to child fist-sized cinders.  At the top you can see into the crater, but first we have to hike up the 700’ tall cinder cone.  With each step our feet sink a few inches into the cinders, making the climb even higher.  We come across a park ranger descending from the top.  We are cautioned of the conditions he experienced.  “The rain is not the issue, worry about the 50+ mile an hour gusty winds.”  We stop for a moment thinking about his precaution.  The blue sky is getting ever closer and the winds we had experienced earlier have turned into light breezes.  We are going for it. 

Each step kicks up dust from the cinders, incentive to keep your mouth closed while hiking this area.  We arrive at the top about the same time clouds pass, giving us bright blue sky.  The center of the cone descends several hundred feet from the summit.  Somehow, small patches of trees and shrubs grow on the interior walls of the cone.  Black, gray, brown, and red cinders make up the cone.  From the top we can see Lassen Peak 10 miles in the distance.  In the opposite direction we see the almost two-mile lava field all the way to Butte Lake.  We also see Painted Dunes, a multi-colored pumice field immediately below us.  Trees grow among the yellow, orange, red, and gray blotches of pumice of the Painted Dunes. 

Painted Dunes

Hike down, Butte Lake
in the distance

Our hike back down the cone is much easier.  With each step we slide down another two-to-three inches, making the hike enjoyable.  At the bottom, I have to stop to empty only a few pebbles that found their way into my shoe.  Our walk back is enjoyable, although we didn’t see any bears.  After dinner we walk back to the lake for a colorful sunset.  Tomorrow a long drive.

On the road

The landscape changes as we continue east.  It dries out.  We pass two reservoirs that are noticeably lower than normal.  Our route takes us to Reno, NV.  I had noticed small pools of oil under the truck the last two days so this is the time and place to have it taken care of.  The attendant at the oil change shop tells me it appears to be leaking from the oil filter.  They change the oil, I check under the truck the next few days, problem solved.

With a 550+ mile drive between Lassen Volcanic NP and Great Basin NP we make an interim stop in Austin, NV.  It is a very small town which is pretty well shut down, being off-season.  We do find a laundry and take advantage of the empty machines.  Our drive across Nevada is long, and uncrowded.  US-50 lives up to its reputation ‘The Loneliest Road’.  Over the today’s 90 mile we drive we see only four other vehicles driving the same direction us.  This same pattern of traffic is repeated on each of the three days it takes to cross through, Nevada and western Utah.

Great Basin National Park

Wheeler Peak from
Great Basin NP, 2024

As we cross eastern Nevada the mountains get taller.  We see Wheeler Peak, the second highest mountain in Nevada at 13,065’.  US-50 wraps around it.  We jump off US-50 driving to the Great Basin Visitor Center.  I have been on the fence about visiting Great Basin.  Construction of the main road up to 10,000’ has all but closed down the road, limiting parking, camping and hiking in the upper reaches of the park.  At the visitor center we learn that today the road has officially reopened.

Wheeler Peak 2018

The Upper Lehman Campground, at 7,000’ is open on a first come first served basis.  Being the middle of the week, our chances are better at getting in.  Arriving early afternoon, we find three available sites out of the 24.  I have been here once before staying at the Wheeler Peak Campground up at 10,000’.  That campground is still under construction, opening sometime in 2025.  We take the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive up to end, at 10,000’ elevation.  Winding our way up the mountain we see different parts of the peak not seen from lower viewpoints.  The rock glacier snow is still visible, although it seems smaller than from my visit 6 years ago.  Fall color is barely hanging on at the lower elevations of the park.  Up at 10,000’ trees are all but bare. 

One of the rangers informs us we missed peak color by less than a week.  We take it easy today just riding around deciding on what we want to see tomorrow.  Back at the entrance to the park, we stop at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center.  All the reservable cave tour tickets are taken for the foreseeable future, but we learn 25 tickets are daily held for those of us that didn’t have the foresight to reserve ahead of time.  The trick is – we have to be in line tomorrow morning when the doors open at 8 for the best chance at getting in on a tour.  There are four tours; 2-30 minute and 2-60 minute.  Inquiring further we learn that this past Memorial Day the line for tickets had 150 waiting for 100 tickets.  We are glad this is offseason.

The next morning we are up at 6, eat a quick breakfast, then drive down the mountain, arriving at the Visitor Center at 748.  There is already a line.  We are #16 in line, so we think we have a good chance at getting in the early 60-minute tour.  Rangers announce cave protocol; we cannot wear any clothing or shoes that have been in a cave over the past 10-years.  White nose syndrome is a deadly fungal disease killing millions of bats.  As a part of the process to enter the cave we step in a pan of disinfectant cleaning our shoes, before entering the cave.

Lehman Cave

The doors open at 8, our line shuffles in waiting for our turn to purchasing cave tickets.  By the time we get to the desk we learn there are six tickets left for our tour – Yay, we are in.  While waiting for the tour, we plan which hike(s) we will do after our cave tour and lunch.  Heading to Wheeler Peak trailhead is our goal.

Shields

The cave is small, only two miles in length, but there are a number of unique formations that are rarely seen in other caves, if ever.  Water trickling through the soil and limestone over tens of thousands of years left limestone formations we see today.  Stalactites, stalagmites, columns, flowstone, soda straws and cave popcorn; along with the rarer shields.  Some of the draperies resemble bacon.  Our phones perform quite well recording images and making movies.

After the cave we drive back to the Wheeler Peak trailhead, first for lunch, then a hike.  Multiple trails take off from here, we start with the Alpine Lakes hike.  We pass by two small lakes, like many of the other bodies of water we have seen, water levels are down 1 – 2’.  Arriving at one of the trail junctions we have to decide – return, or add another 1.5 miles to today’s hike to the bristlecone pine forest.  We add on the extra mileage.  

We find ourselves strangely energized, even hiking at 10,000+’.  We are amazed at the bristlecones.  We go off-trail getting intimate views of these trees, some being between 2,000 to 3,000 years old.  Bristlecone wood has a high resin content so the wood does not rot.  Instead it is sculpted by wind driven ice crystals and dust.

Campsite visitors

Returning to our campsite I study what we need to do regarding the Backcountry Permit to drive the White Rim Road (WRR) in Canyonlands.  I was up early on Friday, May 10th to reserve one of the 25 overnight permits released each day.  Be ready and quick on the ‘Enter’ key or…. Better luck next time.  I was ready, getting the permit, but I was not done.  The permit allows us to stay overnight, but you also have to reserve a campsite for each night.  There are fewer than 25 campsites.  I got campsites for two nights.  With all this paperwork in hand, I will call tomorrow to speak with one of the rangers in charge of the permits for the White Rim Road.

We decide to stay at Great Basin one more day, a day to casually explore the park and overall rest.  We have been on the run every day from the start of our trip 24 days ago.  My call to the Canyonlands Backcountry Permit office is very informative.  The entire road is 100-miles, we have already decided we are only doing 30-miles, then returning.  The ranger I speak with says that as the road goes further west it’s condition worsens from the monsoons earlier this year.  Travelers are required to have self-extraction equipment to drive this area, winches and proper cabling to pull yourself out of whatever you are stuck in.  We are not going anywhere near that part of the road.  We are told we will be good over the part we plan to drive.  

Freemont picotgraphs

That complete, we drive to the visitor center finding the location of some small caves with pictographs.  The painted pictographs are from the Fremont culture, 800 – 1400 years ago.  We spend the rest of the day relaxing at our campsite.  Tomorrow a long drive to Moab, UT.

Thanks for stopping by,

Mark