Lassen Volcano to Mount Saint Helens - July 21 - 25

July 21
The morning dawned on our Eureka Campsite and we were greeted by a Mountain Bluebird flycatching around the RV. He was joined by a female Bullock's Oriole who was feeding her newly fledged offspring. 

 Mountain Bluebird

Bullock's Oriole - female

As we drove along highway 50 we passed through wide valleys of sagebrush. Separating the sage brush valleys were low-lying mountain ranges with juniper bushes and pinyon pines growing above 7,500 feet.

 I was surprised by the lack of towns or even ranch houses. As the miles passed by we saw few cars and no habitations of any kind. Austin was the only town of any size until we reached the outskirts of Reno.

In the middle of nowhere we stopped at the only building we had seen for miles. It was a small well kept little restaurant, RV park and motel.

The inside was vintage wild west. Big game was mounted all around the room with racks of guns underneath. Bonanza was playing on the TV set over the bar. The owner was a good old boy who was happy to regale us with stories of guns, hunting and wild west history.

I was concerned that Emma would hold forth on her non-violence, no guns, no hunting, no Republicans rhetoric and run the risk of getting mounted along with the antelope. Fortunately, she was on her best behavior.

Beyond requesting gluten free bread and free range chicken eggs she kept her comments to a minimum. Perhaps it was the look in the waiter's eyes when she inquired if there were any gluten free items on the menu.

As we carried on toward Reno the valley became much drier. Sagebrush thinned then disappeared and was replaced by wide areas of bare salt flats. This is more what I expected of Nevada.


By the evening, we had driven through Reno and arrived at Susanville in California. At dusk we spotted a doe with twin fawns. As I took pictures a local came by to make sure I wasn't planning to shoot them.
It was nice to meet a fellow conservationist.

Mule Deer - fawns

July 22
By early morning, we were rising in altitude and passing through lush forests of conifers. We took a break at the visitor centre in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Visitor Centre - Lassen Volcano

The ranger at the visitor centre recommended the seven mile Brokeoff Mountain trail so off we went.

The trail was near the visitor centre and rose steadily through conifer forests interspersed with the occasional meadow.

Emma loves to hike and was in her glory as she got her endorphin rush bolting up the mountain. I like to wander along and take pictures so it was a constant effort to keep up with my enthusiastic partner.

Brilliant green moss shrouded all the dead trees and many of the living.

The trail kept going up and up and like the energizer bunny Emma kept going and going.

With metres to go to reach the summit Emma's batteries ran out. Emma is much more about the journey than the destination so she stops when she has had enough aerobic exercise.

 I had a different perspective. I`m not sweating and scrambling several thousand feet up a mountain without getting a picture at the summit. My choice point is to start the hike or not. Once I start I intend to summit. 

 View of Lassen Volcano from the top of Brokeoff Mountain

 

 Jim at the Summit of Brokeoff Mountain

 Lassen Volcano

The way back was all down but it was long.

 As we motored back to the trailhead we spotted a couple of Sooty Grouse and a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

 Sooty Grouse

Sooty Grouse

 

Golden-mantled Groundsquirrel

This little fellow had definitely been snacking and his cheeks were bulging.

 Stellar Jay

As we completed our hike we were greeted by a Stellar Jay.
RV`s are great. We had an immediate shower in the parking lot, ate lunch and continued on our way.

By mid afternoon we were walking around the Sulphur Works.  Thermal activity deep in the earth was creating steam vents and boiling mud pots.

We continued up the park road toward the Lassen Summit Trail.

It was a perfect day for a hike up to the summit of Lassen Mountain. Unfortunately, the trail was closed for repairs. Instead, we had a mid afternoon snack at the trailhead and admired the mountain view.

Lassen Summit Trailhead

Vulcan`s Eye

Vulcan`s Eye: Close-up

It`s easy to tell which way the prevailing winds blow when you are near the top of a mountain.

Once over the pass we continued around and down the slopes of Mount Lassen. At Kings Creek, we stopped for a short walk around this pleasant mountain meadow.

King`s Creek Meadow

King`s Creek

We continued onward to the Hot Rock interpretive trail. Emma was pretty much done so I did the short interpretive walk through a shaded glen. Along the way were signs explaining the effects of the 1915 Lassen Volcanic eruption. The "Hot Rock" was expelled from the volcanic eruption and travelled for several miles before landing here. It was still too hot to touch when it was photographed by B.F. Loomis on May 22, 1915. 

Loomis Hot Rock

Western Chipmunk at the Manzanita Lake Campground.

We were too tired to cook and almost too tired to eat when we got to the Manzanita Lake Campground.
Luckily the campground had a little store where you could buy beer and pizza.

At the checkout, Emma tried to explain to the cashier about our great day. However, her words were slurred and coming out all jumbled. The cashier looked at me with a quizzical expression as Emma was not speaking decipherable english.

I smiled and said, ``We went on a long hike. She`s done.``

  ``Poor dear``, said the cashier as she produced a bottle opener. With a flourish she opened one of our beer and handed it to Emma. ``Sit over there dear and have a drink`, she said. Emma happily plopped down and drank her beer as they heated up our dinner.

July 23
With miles to go, we got an early start. It was slow going along the mountain highway to get to the I5 north of Redding. On the interstate, traffic moved briskly but we had to get off at Weeds to proceed up highway 97 to Klamath.

Mount Shasta as Viewed from the East Side

From highway 97, we got a nice backside view of Mount Shasta.

We reached Crater Lake National Park in the early afternoon. Sad to say, the further up the mountain we got the more the clouds and fog rolled in. As we crested the summit we could only see a dozen metres.

We walked a short distance along the rim trail and only got brief glimpses of Crater Lake.

Crater Lake

I felt badly for Emma. I saw Crater Lake on a clear day 50 years ago and remember it vividly to this day.
It is still beautiful in the fog but it`s not the same.

Crater Lake

We continued on and ended the day just south of Eugene, Oregon.

July 24

After a morning stroll around the campsite we continued up the I5 to the nearby outlet stores just south of Portland.

There is no sales tax in Oregon so we had fun at the outlet stores.


July 25

We camped beside the Toutle River intending to get an early start up to Mount Saint Helen`s. However, Emma had work to do and required the campsite's wifi. We started up the mountain at noon.

The Mount Saint Helen`s Visitor Centre at Silver Lake gave us our first cloud shrouded view of Mount Saint Helen's.

Toutle River Valley

Mount St. Helen's

On the way up the mountain we stopped and did the two mile hike along Hummock`s Trail.

Toutle River

 Beaver Pond on Hummock`s Trail

 

As we neared the top of the road we saw how the original forest trees had been flatted by the explosive eruption in 1980. It has been more than 40 years but you can still see the bare hillside with the flattened trees.

Wild Flowers

Headwaters of the Toutle River

It was interesting to see the Toutle River winding its way through the volcanic ash from the 1980 eruption.
I was in bed in Vancouver, BC on the Sunday morning the mountain erupted. The sound of the explosion woke me up. 

Mount St. Helen's Among the Clouds

You can watch a 25 minute film about Mount Saint Helen's at the visitor centre. When the film ends the screen retracts into the ceiling and this is the view you see.

Theater Window in the Mount St. Helen's Visitor Centre

Emma and Mt. Saint Helen's

Mount St. Helen's

On this trip we saw five National Parks, seven National Monuments, two National Historic Sites and one National Wildlife Refuge. Also 74 bird and 14 mammal species.

Our goal is getting closer. There are 46 National Parks in the contiguous USA and we have visited 36.