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Lassen Volcanic National Park is a new park for us and we were eager to explore as much as possible in our one day. The park surrounds Mt. Tehama, a stratovolcano that erupted and collapsed in on itself over 600,000 years ago. The severely eroded caldera doesn’t hold a lake like nearby (and geologically related) Crater Lake. Instead it affords visitors the opportunity to see geothermally active areas. Remnants of the caldera are easily visible (Brokeoff Mountain, Mt. Diller and Pilot Pinnacle to name a few) but imagining the immensity of ancient Mt. Tehama is difficult.

The Park’s main attraction, and reason for its creation, is Lassen Peak, which erupted for the first time in May 1914. The southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range, 10, 457’ Lassen continued to spew for the next seven years and was famed as the lower 48 states’ most recent eruption until Mt. St. Helens stole that title in 1980.

The volcanic story of Lassen NP is not yet fully written. The park’s geothermal areas like Sulphur Works, Boiling Springs and Bumpass Hell are heating up. Scientists think the temperature change is a sign of future eruptions. Mt. Shasta and Lassen Peak are the two areas where scientists are looking for our next eruption.

Culturally, the high elevation land around Lassen Peak never supported a permanent population, either of Native Americans or settlers. Yet the area was traversed and well known by both groups. The Yahi Indians are one tribe that migrated through the area. The Yahi tribe is famous for its last known member, Ishi, who turned up in Oroville, CA in 1911. Considered the last “Stone Age man” in America, Ishi lived out his days at the UC Berkeley Museum where he shared his cultural knowledge with anthropologists.

Our day in Lassen was spent in the western half of the Park, following Hwy 89. If we’d had more time we would’ve visited the Warner Valley in the east, where the Pacific Crest Trail snakes through on its way north. Hwy 89 had just fully opened a few weeks before, even though it was one of the hottest summers on record the snow pack was slow to melt.

At the entrance station we purchased an annual National Park Pass with the Golden Eagle sticker which is good for entrance to most Federal lands, we figure it’ll soon pay for itself. I was disappointed that Lassen does not have a Visitor’s Center as I always learn something from the exhibits. Apparently a Visitor Center will be opening in 2008.

On to Sulphur Works. Near the road, you can smell the stench of rotten eggs emitting from the earth long before you reach the Works. Yellow, gold, and orange lifeless mounds stretch along either side of the road. Nearby we watched a deer graze in the bright green grass under stunted trees, apparently oblivious to the odor. If you can tolerate the stench and get close enough you can feel the warm air as it gushes out the vents and hear the liquid inside boiling. Around the turn of the century some entrepreneurs attempted to turn the area into a spa so people could soak in the hot waters. Perhaps it was the smell but the resort never prospered and nothing now remains of it.

Our next stop was at beautiful, turquoise blue Lake Helen. At the foot of Lassen Peak, Lake Helen is near the Bumpass Hell (hey, I didn’t name it) trailhead. Bumpass Hell is a hydrothermal area with bubbling mud pots, scalding hot pools and fumaroles. The area was named after Kendall VanHook Bumpass (just what nationality is that name?) who stepped through the crust around a hot pool and lost his leg in 1864. At 240 degrees I can’t imagine the pain! Amazing to feel the heat of the steam as we look at snow drifts all around us (and this is the middle of August). A very eye catching area.

After lunch at Summit Lake we drove through the Devastated Area. Though well on the way to recovery this area was hardest hit by Lassen’s largest eruption in 1915. Not a living thing was left for miles, just cooling lava and ash. The blast shot ash and gas 30,000 feet in the air and was visible for 150 miles. Scientists studying the Mt. St. Helens aftermath look to the Devastated Area as a 65 year model of regrowth and change. Personally, the Earth just amazes me. I love that there are still mysteries about Earth processes, still things we just don’t understand, that the Earth can still surprise us.

Our last hike of the day, around Lily Pond, was capped with a gorgeous sunset. From the road we saw the last colors of the day play across Mt. Shasta. While we only skimmed the surface of what this park has to offer we felt it was a wonderful day, even the kitties seemed to enjoy it.

Photos: Lassen Volcanic National Park as seen through our camera.

Dates: We visited the Lassen Volcanic National Park on Sunday, 08/13/06.