Lassen Volcanic National Park...A Hidden Gem of California East

"When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. 

I wrote down 'happy'. 

They told me I didn't understand the assignment,

and I told them they didn't understand life".

John Lennon

We are catching up with some "pending" posts...for as many of you know, our lives experienced sudden and abrupt changes...but all for the best. There are times when shit needs to happen to bring awareness to stagnant circumstances. 
The events and experiences during the last year set our creativity engine on idle for we needed to focus on other life priorities. They created an illusion of rearing their heads up every week and thus our mental and emotional platforms had to stay sharp, not to be distracted with "passions." 
Life is awesome now, routines finding their lanes again, souls nourished daily and the juices of our zest for exploring running amok. Our hopes are to shortly catch everyone up with all our latest travels. In the meantime, enjoy this short piece fueled by the travels of last summer...

We love chasing the wind...it keeps the wild in us and mountains have always been my oxygen, so Lassen Volcanic National Park has always been on our short list of destinations. Though we tried to create and find a large enough window to visit the park and the surrounding wilderness over the years, life sometimes gets in the way...creating "pauses" to those intentions. Not this time!

After a long drive from our beloved Central Coast, we officially began our maiden exploration of Lassen, entering at the north entrance via SR 44. And as soon as we passed the NPS entry kiosk, I realized the park would be providing Imkelina with an extravagant choice of "air pixels"...this park is beautiful.

As it was early in the season, only one campground was opened...Manzanita Lake Campground. We chose not to make any reservations, as our research noted that we would have no problem securing a campsite in the first come, first served B Loop. The information was spot on, as we had a multitude of nice sites to choose from, especially with our tiny WeBeGone.

Created as a National Monument in 1907, Lassen is not a large park, only 106,372 acres. Compare that to Denali National Park in Alaska which boasts a massive 4,740,912 acres. It's no wonder that area is the home to the "Big Dogs." Even the Channel Islands have more mass than Lassen. But what drew us to Lassen other than the stunning ruggedness was the lack of crowds. The park draws approximately a half million visitors per year. Now give a shout out to the 6.2 million people, their cars and buses crowding the rim of the Grand Canyon. You definitely notice the difference on the roads, campgrounds and trailheads.

And yet for a small park there is so much to do and explore. We barely got a taste of all the beauty this park has to offer. But we made sure we noted the activities, the campsites and the trails we would do on our return trip. During this initial visit we hung around Manzanita Lake entertaining ourselves with some fishing, a few short hikes and some well needed "us" time taking in the beauty of Lassen Peak.

We did take a day to drive through the park, stopping at a handful of beautiful sites and spending some qualitative time exploring them. As we drove higher into the park we were amazed of how much snow still covered the mountainside. 

Lake Helen is one of the only pure glacial lakes in the park. Although it remains frozen and covered in deep snow for most of the year, during late summer you will see it slowly shedding its frozen winter cap and displaying stunning iridescent hues of sapphire blue waters. 

And then from a landscape of snow and ice, you come upon the Sulphur Works, a hydrothermal area that surrounded us with a symphony of of boiling mud pots and steam vents.

Yes, Lassen Volcanic Park had far more things to see and do than we had time for. Reasons to return...and our pack had a very happy experience.

At Waypoint 40.5327º N, 121.5673º W