Backpacking in Lassen National Park
Killing time and foiled plans - a trip report
Because the advent of funemployment was different for Em and I, I had planned on taking the boys for some kayak camping as we meandered our way to visit the grandparents in Oregon. The kayak camping was also motivated by a couple of other factors: 1) we need to store the 17’ sea kayak somewhere other than our 5’x10’ storage unit and 2) because the kids have never done it before.
Sadly (angrily), when we got the the intended destination of Lake Spaulding, we found it posted as day use only. Although this is national forest land, PG&E manages this recreation area and does not make it known what the rules are - thanks PG&E.
Enter the backup plan. Many years ago, Nathan Bramall introduced me to Lassen National Park and it’s rad. At one point we hiked the Cinder Cone in the NE corner of the park and I remember thinking that Butte Lake (where the Cinder Cone trailhead starts) would be an excellent kayak camping lake. Off we drove.
Sadly (despondently), when we got there, Butte Lake had fallen victim to our west coast drought and the 20’ of exposed shoreline smelled like several warm, dead fish had been distributed uniformly around the lake perimeter.
Fine, I give up; we just went backpacking.
Joe helped select the route, which accounts for the lazy first day (blue) and really all days because he maxes out at about 8 miles. Days are color code: day 2 (green), day 3 (red), day 4 (orange), and day 5 (purple).
Elevation profile for the 5 days. Almost no elevation change - Joe loved it. This profile is generated by GPSVisualizer, which is an amazing geospatial analysis tool.
Day 1 - Summit Lake to Shadow Lake
Getting a late start, we had an easy hike with about 1200’ of elevation gain up to Shadow Lake where the boys swam and we found a campsite with an exceptional view of the lake and (presumably) the shadow casting mountain.
Swimming in Shadow Lake
Day 2 - Shadow Lake to Hat Creek and the PCT
Day 2 started with a nice hike past Terrance Lake and down to Paradise Meadow, which is aptly named. Unfortunately, after crossing the road and heading into the Hat Creek drainage, we entered the 2012 Reading burn area, which was much worse than I had expected. In fact, it was pretty depressing. We’ve now hiked through a number of pretty burn areas that are about 10 years old and none of them have recovered in any meaningful way - around Hat Creek, most of the coniferous growth was no more than 4’ tall. Perhaps in 20 years, this area will contain 2 lovely aspen groves, but it is otherwise lost to my lifetime and possibly my children’s. This really drove home that all of the burns that destroyed areas we’ve loved are effectively and (depending on changes to rainfall totals) maybe actually permanent.
Related, Caltopo has an extremely useful fire history database to help avoid these areas (if you’re not on backup plan (c) and lacking internet access). We might have chosen a different route if we’d been able to check this. C’est la vie.
We did stop along Hat Creek for lunch, found a few sad trees and a very cool pool. Joe was the first and only person to take a dip:
The water temp is perfect.
Day 3 - Hat Creek to Lower Twin Lake
We slogged through the burn area heat stopping along the way for a swim in the second Cluster Lake. After we’d all been wallowing for a while, one of the boys said, “What’s that thing”. Oh, cool. A leech.
A leech blindly flailing about for a warm toe to feast on. We didn’t swim in this lake anymore.
After departing the parasitic aquatic life, we finally made it to Lower Twin Lake, which had a very nice beach, campsite and cooler, leach free water. We later learned that here had been several bear encounters (specifically, stolen backpacks - the WORST!), but as usual, we only saw deer.
Day 4 - Lower Twin Lake to Kings Creek
Wherein the kids learn a new, age-inappropriate idiom
From Lower Twin we hiked to the final campsite along the PCT and down the very pleasant Grassy Swale. After setting up camp by the creek, Joe counted up the number of fish we caught (25). After we had dinner, I went fishing by myself, stepped on a wet log at the head of a pool, fell first on my keister (acquiring a grapefruit sized bruise), then backwards into the pool for a head first, full body dunk that, for extra value, ruined my phone’s battery and put an end to pictures. While that sequence was super fun, the real entertainment happened when I strode into camp sopping wet:
Boys: “What happened to you!”
Me: “I fell a**-over-t*ts into the creek.”
Boys: (pause, die laughing)
Search and Rescue: (solemnly haul out the bodies)
Joe performing his duty as official water temperature tester.
Day 5 - Return to the Car & Lassen Tour
Quick hike back to the car, then a day enjoying the park.
I’m on a boat!
