Where in the World?

Mt. Lassen and Lake Helen

After waking up early, we headed east towards Redding, CA. 190 miles of beautiful highway lay between us and the our ultimate goal; Mt. Lassen National Park (National Park Service Link).

Our journey on Hwy 299 took us through the Six Rivers National Forest and the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area. They constitute a very rugged and beautiful part of Northern California. Although our plans didn’t allow us to stop here and explore, we will be back. White water rafting, kayaking, hiking, camping and all other sorts of outdoor activities abound here. I highly recommend it.

We entered Mt. Lassen National Park (Wikipedia Link) on the northern end which is at the convergence of Hwy. 44 and 89. Mt. Lassen is a 10,457 foot (3,187 m) plug volcano and is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range. In fact, it is one of the world’s largest plug dome volcanoes. On May 22nd, 1915 Lassen exploded and shed a huge portion of it’s northeast side which slide down and destroyed many acres of forest.

Lassen has the highest average annual snowfall amounts in California. 660 inches (16.76 m) are common, but 1000 inches (25.4 m) have been recorded. As you can imagine snow lingers for quite some time with the consequence of not having the road clear (Hwy. 89) until June in some years.

Mt. Lassen National Park is a hidden gem with fantastic landscapes, unusual geology, active steam vents, azure blue lakes, waterfalls, meadows, hundreds of species of plants and animals and miles of trails to explore. Make an effort to visit this constantly changing place.

Please see my additional photos for this day.

Michael