Today we had nothing on our duty roster so we went exploring. First we explored the Court House Cafe where I tried their chicken fried steak and eggs, continuing my quest to find the best in the country. It isn’t served at the Court House Cafe although it was certainly better than nominal. Prices were great.
After consuming the food that was probably bad for me, we drove west on CA-36 to begin a big loop around Mount Lassen. Lassen is located, strangely enough, inside Lassen Volcanic National Park. I’m not real sure how the Federal government names places because just a few days ago we were traveling within Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Sometimes the “National” is first and sometimes the “Volcanic” is first within the titles. Weird.
From CA-36 we turned northwest on CA-44 and then onto CA-89 through the National Park. The loop is completed when 89 intersects 36 at the south end of the Park and heads east back to Susanville. The loop takes travelers through some of the most impressive tortured, fractured and impacted terrain that is the result of several hundred thousand years of volcanic shenanigans. On the way up to the Park, mostly lava deposits make up the rocky terrain covered by forests of cedar, fir and pine trees. Just south of the Park north entrance station Manzanita Lake borders one side of the road with the original ranger station and old visitor center on the other.
Not three miles south, travelers pass an area called Chaos Crags where Mount Lassen deposited layers of conglomerates of hot ash and angular rock in a myriad of explosive eruptions only to have it erode and slide due to its instability. We passed an enormous rock the Park staff refers to as “Hot Rock” which is a 300 ton boulder blown from the top of the mountain during an explosive eruption which melted the glaciers and sent this chunk downhill in the resulting lahar. Right about here we also spotted a very healthy-looking weasel calmly trotting across the road. I don’t remember ever seeing a weasel in the wild before.
We continued on 89 and were soon treated to some magnificent views of Mount Lassen. The road goes over an 8500 foot pass, about 2000 feet short of the summit of Lassen at 10,457 feet. The vistas from the pass area are spectacular. Descending from the pass, we passed by two gorgeous lakes with Mount Lassen as the backdrop.
There are various geysers, mud pots and fumaroles within the Park. Unfortunately, almost all of them require some substantial hiking to see them with the exception of the Sulphur Works. Here, right next to CA-89, are violently bubbling pots of mud, steaming vents and plenty of hydrogen sulfide. We stopped here for a while, marveling at the impressive mud pot that borders the road but requires a short walk from a nearby parking lot.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is another gem in the Park Services’ vast array of tantalizing lands. I do not think I have previously been to a place created by so much outright violence. It is gorgeous. Not far from the south exit from the Park, CA-89 joined up with CA-36 toward Susanville but we were surprised to find the great scenery was not at an end. We soon came to the town of Chester and the adjacent Lake Almanor. We had never heard of Lake Almanor previously but it is quite large, home to an extraordinary number of waterfowl and certainly there. It is another great feature along the amazing loop around Mount Lassen. This is a world-class drive for fantastic scenery.
We got some photos during today’s loop. To see them, click here