I wasn't sure if I was going to climb the peak today, but after waking up to such a clear and beautiful, I couldn't resist. Although there was some snow on the lower portions, most of the way up was solid terrain. Mount Lassen is the tallest point in the area and was active with eruptions as early as 1915. The at the top one could still see obvious signs of the crater plugged up and couldn't help but wonder when it might next rumble to life again. There were several informational signs along the way that gave a good description of the geologic history. The summit had a nice 360 degree view, including a clear view of Mt. Shasta about 90 miles away.
While there weren't any marmots visible, there was a cute chipmunk, probably one of the Rescue Rangers, running around that also seemed apt at finding food. The views were, of course, pretty outstanding and worth the effort. I could feel myself though start to wear down at times and figure I've been putting such a pounding on my body that it was finally going to start complaining.
After heading back, I drove over to the trail head for the Kings Creek Falls and decided to check it out before leaving the park since it would only be a 3 mile round trip. The meadows were as lush as those in the Yosemite area. Apparently it had been a heavy season of snowfall, which meant that there was a lot of water to saturate the ground to not only provide water for the area flora but keep the
waterfalls and streams running quite strong. While not quite as tall or wide as the falls in Yosemite, it was still an impressive display of nature and still an excellent hike. I wish I had more time to spend in this national park, however I still wanted to make it to the next destination with plenty of light since I still needed to make it most of the way to San Francisco by night fall. When I started planning the trip I wanted to do more on the west coast, such as the redwood forests and Pacific Coast Highway, however logistics simply were not going to work out this trip. Oh well, I suppose I'll be 'forced' to come back next year.
After leaving Lassen, I headed over to McArthur-Burney Falls State Park. When scanning the state park book before heading on the trip, I knew I wanted to come here after reviewing the description and seeing a picture on the front cover. Since I have never been to Niagara Falls, these are the most wide that I have yet to experience. About 100 million gallons of water flow over these 128 foot high falls. The parking lot was only about 50 fee from a view of the falls, so it was a different experience to not have to hike several hours to reach the prize, but I was not at all disappointed. I was enthralled with the view of dual falls coming from the top and yet part way down water was pouring straight out of the wall! The falls’ two main cataracts of plunging white water originate from Burney Creek.
Across the basalt face of the cliff, thousands of rivulets issue through the porous rock from underground aquifers fed by rain and snowmelt, giving the falls a feathery, enchanted appearance. President Roosevelt visited the falls and called them the 'eighth wonder of the world', and it was not difficult to understand why. I took the opportunity to grab a shower while my batteries were recharging and reorganize the car a bit. This was definitely a spot where I could hang out for a while, but about about an hour of sitting by the falls I decided to start heading back. Though the driving to reach Burney Falls and Lassen Peak probably added an extra 500 miles of driving, I think the experience was well worth the time and effort.
I wasn't sure if I was going to climb the peak today, but after waking up to such a clear and beautiful, I couldn't resist. Although there was some snow on the lower portions, most of the way up was solid terrain. Mount Lassen is the tallest point in the area and was active with eruptions as early as 1915. The at the top one could still see obvious signs of the crater plugged up and couldn't help but wonder when it might next rumble to life again. There were several informational signs along the way that gave a good description of the geologic history. The summit had a nice 360 degree view, including a clear view of Mt. Shasta about 90 miles away. 
While there weren't any marmots visible, there was a cute chipmunk, probably one of the Rescue Rangers, running around that also seemed apt at finding food. The views were, of course, pretty outstanding and worth the effort. I could feel myself though start to wear down at times and figure I've been putting such a pounding on my body that it was finally going to start complaining.
After heading back, I drove over to the trail head for the Kings Creek Falls and decided to check it out before leaving the park since it would only be a 3 mile round trip. The meadows were as lush as those in the Yosemite area. Apparently it had been a heavy season of snowfall, which meant that there was a lot of water to saturate the ground to not only provide water for the area flora but keep the 
waterfalls and streams running quite strong. While not quite as tall or wide as the falls in Yosemite, it was still an impressive display of nature and still an excellent hike. I wish I had more time to spend in this national park, however I still wanted to make it to the next destination with plenty of light since I still needed to make it most of the way to San Francisco by night fall. When I started planning the trip I wanted to do more on the west coast, such as the redwood forests and Pacific Coast Highway, however logistics simply were not going to work out this trip. Oh well, I suppose I'll be 'forced' to come back next year.
After leaving Lassen, I headed over to McArthur-Burney Falls State Park. When scanning the state park book before heading on the trip, I knew I wanted to come here after reviewing the description and seeing a picture on the front cover. Since I have never been to Niagara Falls, these are the most wide that I have yet to experience. About 100 million gallons of water flow over these 128 foot high falls. The parking lot was only about 50 fee from a view of the falls, so it was a different experience to not have to hike several hours to reach the prize, but I was not at all disappointed. I was enthralled with the view of dual falls coming from the top and yet part way down water was pouring straight out of the wall! The falls’ two main cataracts of plunging white water originate from Burney Creek. 
Across the basalt face of the cliff, thousands of rivulets issue through the porous rock from underground aquifers fed by rain and snowmelt, giving the falls a feathery, enchanted appearance. President Roosevelt visited the falls and called them the 'eighth wonder of the world', and it was not difficult to understand why. I took the opportunity to grab a shower while my batteries were recharging and reorganize the car a bit. This was definitely a spot where I could hang out for a while, but about about an hour of sitting by the falls I decided to start heading back. Though the driving to reach Burney Falls and Lassen Peak probably added an extra 500 miles of driving, I think the experience was well worth the time and effort.
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