THE Trip - Day 3 (Nature's Contrasts)

Destination for the day – Lassen Volcanic National Park with hopes of a hike and some fresh air after spending the better part of the last two days in a car.  The park was about 50 miles from our hotel on Interstate 5, which isn’t really that far.   But what a difference those miles made in temperature, terrain, and overall feel.

The temperature in Corning was in the upper 70’s as we started out at 8:30 a.m. and on the way to the mid-90’s.  By the time we reached Lassen at 10 a.m., the car thermometer outside read 58 degrees with a bright blue sky.   We had climbed about 5000 feet in elevation over a gently curving road with lots of horse farms along the way and very few indications of human life.  The park is filled with tall pine trees that cover the sides of the mountains as they fall steeply away into the valleys.

At the Visitor’s Center, Dennis and I learned about the history of the four types of volcanoes and how each of these played a part in creating the environment within the park over thousands of years.   After a violent volcanic eruption in 1915, Lassen Volcanic National Park became the 13^th park to be designated and placed under National protection.  Thank heavens for the foresight of our government to establish a legacy we can enjoy almost 100 years later.

Our plans for a hike took us down a trail that was aptly named … Bumpass Hell.  While the trail was considered moderately difficult that wasn’t the reason for the name.  It was more for what awaited you as you reached the end of the 1.5 miles – a close approximation for any movie company’s depiction of “the inferno” – complete with sounds and smells.   The mud pots and bubbling pools, escaping hissing steamy gas, and the overriding sulfur smell didn’t need much in the way of extra special effects to make me a little nervous!!

 

Our other short stops to see scenic overlooks and brief walks were lovely and great examples of the pleasure of being outdoors on a warm sunny day.  They were, however, in such contrast to the volcanic landscape represented by our longer walk that I was reminded how truly unique our planet is….and how carefully we should be treating Mother Nature’s territory.