Continued...
The second day of our 3-day road trip was the easier than the first, though
not by much as we paid a visit to some peaks in the northeast corner of
Lassen Volcanic National Park. Like most of the peaks in this region, they
are volcanic by nature and we had a nice selection with fine views and great
weather.
Prospect Peak/Cinder Cone
We drove about 26mi from our motel at Old Station to Butte Lake where our hike
would begin. There are trails going to both of these summits and they use the
same trailhead at the west end of the lake. Ours was the only vehicle when we
around 8am, but the Cinder Cone hike is quite popular and the
lot would be almost full before we returned. Prospect Peak is a shield volcano,
built up over time with layer upon layer of easy flowing lava. Not terribly
impressive, but easy to climb, especially with a trail, and without all the
awful rock associated with cinder cones. The 3.5mi trail forks off from the
Cinder Cone Trail around the half-mile mark, gently climbing up through forest
until
begin to open up in the last several hundred feet of elevation.
Not surprisingly,
dominates the views, though there are dozens of
other volcanic summits in view as well. It took us about an hour and a half to
reach where we found and a
very popular , no
surprise there. There is a nice view to
of West Prospect, another
P1K that we had visited the previous day.
On our way back down, I saved us almost a mile by turning off the trail
to head more directly ,
our second objective. Jackie thought
this was illegal until I assured it was perfectly alright to do so. The
2/3mi of cross-country was exceedingly easy through mostly gravel and sand
slopes in the forest understory. One short section of downfall slowed us
briefly, but the shortcut worked quite nicely to get us to
of Cinder
Cone. Upon our arrival, it was instantly clear this was a very popular hike.
There were more than a dozen folks making there way up the steep gravel trail,
and more than that cruising around the summit area (though we didn't see those
folks initially). The trail climbs more than 500ft in a quarter mile and its
super-wide construction (looks like it was made for vehicles) is a nice feature
which allows parties to easily pass one another. We motored up at a steady
pace without stopping, which made Jackie feel pretty good as we passed 9-10
folks along the way. I particularly
enjoyed the hike around , a pictureque
stroll with commanding views of ,
(yes,
the superlative is actually part of the name), Snag Lake, Butte Lake, and
of course, Mt. Lassen, about 10mi to the WSW. We made a complete circle, going
over on of the rim before heading back down.
Jackie took to running the steep trail (an awful mess of loose gravel and sand
that isn't much fun on the way up, but great for a quick descent), handily
beating her father, who at his advanced age, had no chance of keeping up such
a pace.
Back at the TH we made a diversion to check out
. Jackie wanted to
take a dip, but it took some doing to find
with a non-muddy bottom
and some semblence of privacy. Dad drank soda and snacked while Jackie spent
probably 20min .
It was long enough for her to get a bit of a
sunburn on her face and shoulders. She better learn to use sunscreen before we
tackle Mt. Lassen the following day our she's going to be in a bit of hurt...
Raker Peak
We drove back to Old Station where I dropped Jackie off at our motel room at
the Hat Creek Lodge. She'd had enough for the day and welcomed the chance to
relax the rest of the afternoon.
I didn't even shut off the Jeep as I dropped her off
with her stuff before heading back out to visit Raker Peak, another P1K. This one
is located along the main road through the park, SR89, and it took more driving
than I had expected to make my way to the west end of the peak where SR89 goes
by within a mile. I parked at a convenient turnout on the east side of the
highway and
the slopes immediately adjacent the highway. There is an
imposing
on the west side of the peak, immediately in my path.
I knew from the topo map that the terrain was steep, but the contours on the
topo map don't seem to adequately represent it as the 200-foot cliff band it
is, going close to vertical. Still, upon close inspection, there are a number
of class 3 routes possible taking one up through the cliffs. I enjoyed this
section immensely, the best part of the day as I carefully
up through the cliffs. Above the cliff band there is still much elevation
to gain, but there are no more technical difficulties encountered. With half
a mile to go, the terrain relents considerably and it becomes a literal
the rest of the way to the summit. There are actually three places
vying for the highpoint, all within 5ft of the same elevation. The topo map
shows only three, but there is a third to the south of the other two. I visited
all three in turn, leaving a register on the easternmost summit which seemed to
be the highest, according to the GPSr.
A fire had ravaged the peak some time ago, leaving a lot of
dead snags. A few of these had crashed down upon
, making it
difficult to visit. John Vitz had been to this summit previously, but I saw
no sign of a register. I wondered if the trees had scattered it somewhere down
the slope, but I didn't do a thorough search for it - the new one I left would
have to suffice. I found an alternate descent down on the
northwest side of the peak that avoided the cliffs (it would have been extra
spicy to downclimb my ascent route), bypassing them to the north and neatly
returning to the road and the turnout where I had started without much extra
work. It was a little after 3:30p by the time I
, having taken about
an hour and forty minutes for the whole outing. It was time to head back to
the ,
get a shower and, together with Jackie, discover the culinary
delights to be found in Old Station...
Continued...