White - Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park: Your Complete Hiking Guide

Fifth edition, first printing

Copyright 2016 by Mike White

Editor Kerry J. Smith

Project editor Ritchey Halphen

Cover and interior photos Mike White, except where noted

Cover design Scott McGrew

Text design Annie Long

Cartography Mike White

Proofreaders Lisa C. Bailey, Julie Hall Bosch, Rebecca Henderson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: White, Michael C., 1952

Title: Lassen Volcanic National Park : your complete hiking guide / Mike White.

Description: Fifth Edition. | Birmingham, AL : Wilderness Press On the Trail Since 1967, [2016] Includes bibliographical references, webography.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015043772 (print) | LCCN 2016004103 (e-book) ISBN 978-0-89997-799-7 (alk. paper) | ISBN 978-0-89997-800-0 (e-book) ISBN 978-0-89997-800-0 ()

Subjects: LCSH: HikingCaliforniaLassen Volcanic National ParkGuidebooks. | TrailsCaliforniaLassen Volcanic National ParkGuidebooks. | Lassen Volcanic National Park (Calif.)Guidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV199.42.C22 L3795 2016 (print) | LCC GV199.42.C22 (ebook) | DDC 796.5109794/2dc23

LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/2015043772.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Distributed by Publishers Group West

	WILDERNESS PRESS
An imprint of AdventureKEEN
2204 1st Ave. S., Suite 102
Birmingham, AL 35233
800-443-7227; fax 205-326-1012

Visit with questions or comments.

Cover photos (Front cover, top to bottom) Meadow along the Manzanita Creek Trail; a hiker enjoys the view from the top of Lassen Peak.

Frontispiece Loomis Peak from Manzanita Creek (see )

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

SAFETY NOTICE Although Wilderness Press and the author have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur to anyone while using this book. You are responsible for your own safety and health while in the wilderness. The fact that a trail is described in this book does not mean that it will be safe for you. Be aware that trail conditions can change from day to day. Always check local conditions and know your own limitations.

DEDICATION

MY MOM ALWAYS LOVED TO GO PLACES. The destination wasnt all that important to hershe just liked to go somewhere. Never mastering the skill of driving a car, she chose to walk instead. In my early years, she didnt hesitate to tow me along on countless adventures through the streets of Portland, my tiny legs working double-time in a desperate attempt to keep pace with her grownup stride. Those times now far behind, this book is dedicated to the memory of Audrey White, for passing on a fondness for walking and nurturing the urge to discover whats around the next corner.

WITHOUT THE LOVE, SUPPORT, AND ENCOURAGEMENT of my wife, Robin, none of my projects would ever come to fruitionby far and away, she deserves the highest praise for assisting me in this particular endeavor. Thanks to the staff at Wilderness Press, who always do a fine job of getting my work into book form. Thanks also to Dal and Candy Hunter and Keith Catlin, who joined me for a few trips on the trail during fieldwork for the second edition.

THE LAST EIGHT YEARS since the fourth edition of this guide was published have seen significant changes within Lassen Volcanic National Park and its neighboring US Forest Service lands, some within the control of man and some without. As the 100-year anniversary of the parks creation approaches in 2016, the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center is up and running, and important trail projects have been or will be completed by the centennial, including restoration of the Lassen Peak Trail and improvements to the Kings Creek Falls Overlook. Additionally, the Volcano Adventure Camp is set to open in time for the anniversary; this new youth camping facility at the former site of Crags Campground will better facilitate the parks Youth Camping Program. Many events are planned in 2016 to help commemorate Lassen Volcanics induction into the national park system.

The Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center opened in 2008 .

During this eight-year period, several forest fires have also altered the landscape inside and outside of the park boundaries. The two most significant fires were the Reading Fire in 2012, which burned over 28,000 acres (16,993 within the park and 11,071 on Forest Service land), and the 2014 Eiler Fire, which consumed 32,416 acres within the Thousand Lakes Wilderness and surrounding Forest Service land. Smaller fires also burned lands within Hat Creek Valley and on Hat Creek Rim.

Damage from the Eiler Fire of 2014

Fortunately for recreationists, the fire damage visible from established trails is fairly minimal. Hikers will see evidence of the Reading Fire on parts of the Nobles Emigrant and Cluster Lakes Trails within the park. Visible evidence of the Eiler Fire is limited to the northeast corner of the Thousand Lakes Wilderness, although visitors who climb Magee Peak will see a wide swath of destruction from the summit. Hikers on the Hat Creek Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail on Hat Creek Rim will witness an extensive area of burned forest as well. Fire has played a significant role within the forests of the Lassen area throughout its history, and they will continue to do so, especially if the California drought continues.

With the benefits of park improvements, and in spite of the devastation from several forest fires, Lassen remains a day hikers paradise, offering numerous trails to wildflower-carpeted meadows, forest-rimmed lakes, crystalline streams, fascinating hydrothermal features, and view-packed summits. Backpackers will find that Lassen still offers plenty of serene backcountry campsites and plenty of stunning scenery en route.

Burney Falls

MAJESTIC LASSEN PEAK , a 10,457-foot lava dome towering over its mostly forested surroundings, is the centerpiece of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Until the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens in Washington State, Lassen Peak was the most recent volcano to blow in the continental United States, when a series of events occurred from 1914 to 1917. These dramatic eruptions, along with several active hydrothermal areas and plenty of visible evidence of past volcanic activity, have created an extremely scenic and interesting landscape. In recognition of the regions numerous volcanic domes, cinder cones, mud pots, geysers, fumaroles, and hot springs, as well as its pristine lakes and wildflower-carpeted meadows, a groundswell of public support eventually compelled the federal government to approve the creation of Lassen Volcanic National Park in 1916.