(This song was our theme song of the day. I recommend listening to it while reading about the day, it adds to the fun.)
Lassen National Park is essentially one big volcano. It has been dormant for 100 years. However, the land is still filled with hydrothermal sites and bubbling mud cauldrons. Besides the sulfur and hot mud, there are stunning plains of green grass and forests cascading over huge mountains.
The remarkable hydrothermal features in Lassen Volcanic National Park include roaring fumaroles (steam and volcanic-gas vents), thumping mud pots, boiling pools, and steaming ground. Water from rain and snow that falls on the highlands of the park feed the hydrothermal system. Once deep underground, the water is heated by a body of hot or molten rock beneath Lassen Peak. Rising hot water boils to form boiling pools and mud pots. Super-heated steam reaches the surface through fractures in the earth to form fumaroles such as those found at Bumpass Hell and Sulphur Works. These features are related to active volcanism and are indications of the ongoing potential for further eruptions from the Lassen Volcanic Center. (www.nps.gov/...).
After stumbling upon Lassen online, my dad and I knew we had to go. We decided to go this week, we left on Tuesday and came home last night. It was close to five hours of driving which we split in half between us. We stayed in a cabin in Mill Creek, population: 21 people, elevation: 4,737 ft. It was 30 miles away from any sort of town or gas station and reliable cellular service.
Devils Kitchen Trail is a 2.1 mile trail that takes you through two meadows and to “bubbling cauldrons” of sulfuric mud. It smelled like hard-boiled eggs boiled in expired milk. I know, it sounds lovely.
Stay tuned for part 2 and 3 of the rest of our trip.