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Tuesday, June 14, 2022
This morning we got up VERY early (4:30 am). The drive time to Lassen Volcanic National Park was estimated at 7.5 hours. We eschewed Denny’s and had a quick bite a McDonald’s. Based on our experience it’s not possible to have a meal in under an hour at that Denny’s.
The first 280 or so miles was on route 50, which is known as the Loneliest Road in the United States. In more than four hours we only passed through three tiny towns. The drive was actually quite beautiful. Some of the scenery was on long, very straight roads through the valleys. We were surrounded by high, jagged mountains on all sides and you could see for miles and miles without glimpsing evidence of man at all. We were able to do 80 MPH through these areas. The other part of the drive was much slower. That part entailed climbing over mountains on twisting, turning, and switchbacked roads.
Eventually, when we reached I-80, we started looking for gas stations. All of the stations were showing prices of at least $6.50 a gallon. We decided to press on and see what we could find in Reno, NV. We stopped at a T/A where we had lunch at a Fuddruckers. Gas was $6.01 – a bargain!
A good part of the rest of the trip was through Lassen National Forest. It was clear to see that large potions had been burned recently. It was mostly due to the Dixie fire. Finally in the park we needed to speak to someone about our campground reservations. This was the first time we’d used the government’s web site to book a campsite and very recently we realized that we’d made a big mistake. The park’s campgrounds are very popular and most of the campsites were already book. It wasn’t possible for us to book a single campsite for three nights so we booked one site for two nights and another for one night – or so we thought. What we actually did was book a campsite for Tuesday night and another for Thursday night. We were missing Wednesday night! No biggie, we’d seen a bunch of first-come-first-serve campsites on the website for Wednesday night. All we had to do was figure out how to get one. We were told we had to speak to the campsite hosts.
We found our campsite and pitched our tent. The manufacturer says it should take ten minutes. We took about 20. We expect to get better at it. Then we went off in search of the campsite hosts. Just as we arrived we saw them driving off. The sign said that they would be back soon. Just a little further down the road we checked out the park’s store. They had souvenirs and some packaged food items. We were hoping for better. On the way back we checked again and the hosts were still not there.
Back at our campsite we decided to do a little exploring. We starting walking towards Manzanita Lake. Our path took us right past the campsite hosts and this time they were there. We explained our predicament and they offered us a solution. They said that if we moved from site C-09 to C-07 we could stay there for three days in a row. Wonderful! The new site was just next to our current site. We simply removed the tent spikes, carried the already built tent to its new location, and hammered the spikes in once again. Easy Peasy. Problem solved!
We were tired from our long drive so we really didn’t get to do any exploring. We just sat at the campsite and talked about what we planned to do the next few days. Before we could come to any conclusions we were interrupted by a stranger: a deer came walking through our campsite. She helped herself to several patches of green grass before hopping off into the woods.
At 5:00 pm we ate our dinner. It was already quite cold and seemingly getting colder by the minute. Many of the other campers we met warned us that it’s been getting very cold at night. Last night it was in the low 30s. I hope those sleeping bags we bought are warm.
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
We had a really bad night. Three things went wrong. First was the air mattress. Even though our tent has a floor we figured an air mattress would make us more comfortable and provide an additional barrier against the cold ground. Wrong! It turns out that the air mattress was a wonderful conductor of the cold ground. Any part of us that touched the mattress directly was subjected to freezing temperatures. Secondly, the tent has vents on all four sides. On two sides you can zip them closed to prevent the flow of air. The other two sides are only somewhat covered on the outside by rain deflector. Instead of the tent trapping the warm air inside it allowed cold air from outside to seep in. What a poor design – and this is the most popular four person, three season tent sold on Amazon. Lastly, it was freaking cold outside. The temperatures probably dipped into the 20s. Neither of us slept very well.
By 6:30 am we’d given up the ghost. We dressed, got in the car, and turned on the heat. We also ate our breakfast in the car. Soon the sun was out and the temperatures moderated. We decided instead of hiking in the morning and sight seeing in the afternoon that we’d do the sight seeing first to give the thermometer a chance to climb. By 8:30 am we were headed down the scenic drive. It was a real luxury to start the day off already in the park.
We made a few stops along the drive and hiked at the so-called Devastated Area. This area had been pummeled by the eruption of Lassen Peak in 1915. There was evidence of gargantuan rock slides and huge boulders that had been thrown several miles. According to eye witnesses the rocks were still too hot to touch several days later.
On our way back to the campsite we stopped at the park store. We had come up with a plan to make tonight more comfortable. We bought a blanket to cover the air mattress and another with which to cover ourselves. We had high hopes.
We changed our clothes and drove over to Manzanita Lake. The lake is just 350 years old. It was formed when an earlier eruption caused a stream to become dammed up. The lake is very popular with boaters, fisherman, ducks, geese, and all sorts of waterfowl. We were told that the lake is full of rainbow and brown trout; catch and release only. We walked the trail that circumnavigates the lake. At several points on the far side there are magnificent views of snow covered Lassen Peak.
The park’s store was reputed to have all sorts of groceries and prepared foods. We’d counted on that. Instead we found mostly chips, snacks, and candies. We left the park and drove about 15 miles to a grocery store we’d passed on our way in yesterday. That store no longer has a deli or groceries. They just sell chips, snacks, and candies. The clerk recommended a pizza place in Shingletown, about 20 miles past the park in the opposite direction. By the time we got there we were staving.
They had a special: a meatball sub with a side salad for $11.99. We got two. They were somewhat disappointing. The meatballs were obviously from the freezer, the sauce from a can, and the bread wasn’t even toasted. During our time there we noticed that the restaurant was popular with the locals. That was logical because it was just about the only restaurant in town. Cash only. We planned to console ourselves with ice cream from the parlor next door but it is closed on Wednesdays. Wednesdays?!
We went down the road and found an IGA supermarket. We bought some supplies for the next couple of days. We also topped off the gas tank at the bargain price of just $6.88 per gallon.
Thursday, June 16, 2022
What a difference a day makes. We had a really good night’s sleep. We both woke around 4:00 am and noticed that the temperature had really dropped. We put on some extra clothes and went right back to sleep. We awoke at 7:30 am and, for the first time in days, felt rested.
After breakfast we drove up to the Bumpass Hell Trailhead on the opposite side of the park. The road climbed higher and higher and the temperatures kept getting cooler and cooler. By 7,000 feet we saw large patches of snow. By 8,000 feet the snow was several feet thick. This part of the park had just opened a couple of weeks ago. The 3.5 mile trail goes through some of the most active hydrothermal areas in the entire park and is one of the park’s most interesting attractions. When we got there we found that the trail was closed. A park ranger told us that the trail may not be open for several more weeks because of the snow.
We continued on through the park and stopped at a place called The Sulphur Works. The air was thick with the smell of brimstone. We walked on the trail alongside the road and found a pool of bubbling mud. Lava seven miles deep was still hot enough to make the water boil. The soil around the pot was very colorful from all of the minerals being ejected. Further down the road there were several steam vents and even more bubbling pots.
Finally we got to the other end of the park and the main visitor’s center. We stopped there to use their WiFi for a bit. This is the first time we’d had service since we’d been in the park. We continued out of the park to the nearby town of Mineral and had lunch at the local Inn constituting of BarBQ pork ribs and a salmon sandwich.
Back in the park we used the National Park Service’s App and listened to the guided tour. Still looking for a suitable replacement to the Bumpass Hell Trail we drove clear out of the park again and drove about 15 miles to the Subway Cave Lava Tubes.
These tubes are natural tunnels through which lava flows during eruptions. This one was about 1/3 of a mile long. Since the cave was pitch black we were advised to bring a good flashlight and sturdy shoes. The entrance was about 1/3 a mile from the parking lot. By the time we got there we were sweating heavily from the direct sunlight. The lava tubes, however, are a constant 46 degree F. We donned our sweatshirts and headed on it.
Our eyes adjusted very quickly. At several spots in the cave the park service had placed informational signs detailing the site. When we got to the end we decided instead of walking back in the sun we would reverse course and go through the tubes again in the other direction. Back outside we noticed that the lava tube was actually much longer. That part was no longer accessible.
Back at our campsite we found that we got new neighbors on one side. A group of six twenty-somethings had moved in. They played loud music, talked even louder, and were drinking heavily. They turned in for the night at around 9:00 pm and quiet was restored. They must have partied heavier than we thought because we were woken up in the middle of the night by the sounds of one of them being sick.
Friday, June 17, 2022
We had some concerns about breaking down the site. The sleeping bags went back into their bags rather easily. We weren’t able to fit the air mattress back in its box but we managed to fold it up into a neat package. The tent was a bit of a challenge. We took it apart easily enough but were only able to get the main part of the tent back into its bag. We put all of the other pieces into a garbage bag and considered ourselves successful.
The drive to Arcata, CA was only four hours but it seemed much longer. Almost the entire drive was through the mountains. The roads twisted and turned the entire way through huge forests. Fully one third of the forests we saw had been destroyed from fire. It was very sad.
Having reached Arcata we headed towards a pizza place that Deborah had found. In contrast to their Google listing they did not have seating of any kind. We opted for the more pricey crepe restaurant next door. I had a buckwheat crepe filled with sliced chicken, tomatoes, chevre, and basil. Deborah’s was filled with prosciutto, cheese, mushrooms, and scallions. Both were very large and both were very tasty.
It was still too early to check in so we visited the Holly Yashi factory store. The owners, Holly Hosterman and her husband Paul “Yashi” Lubitz, have been making jewelry in Arcata for many years. This is their third location. It combines a retail store, their factory, shipping operations, and administrative offices. We looked around the store and joined the 2:00 pm factory tour.
Deborah told the guide that she’d bought a pair of Holly Yashi earrings on her honeymoon in Maui 36 years ago. Five years later they had been stolen. She wondered if they could be replaced. After the tour the guide found a pair of earrings that were similar to the ones Deborah had lost but, for Deborah, they were not close enough. We walked away empty handed.