October 13, 2012

Sycamore Grove Campground

Mendocino NF, Red Bluff, CA

(Lassen Volcanic National Park)

A couple of days ago we bought new hydration back packs and wanted to test them out so we decided to take a hike at Lessen Volcanic National Park, a 50 mile drive from our campground.  The last eruption that occurred at Lessen Peak was in 1915.  It blew a huge cloud of ash over 30,000 feet into the air.

It was a very pleasant drive watching the terrain change from flat prairie land to thick forest growth. 

  Monte set up the tripod at the entrance to the park so we could take a picture together. 

 There was nobody manning the Ranger Station so we went through the gate and made our way to the Visitor’s Center which was open.  It was quite chilly and as soon as we got out of the car Monte realized that he was not going to be warm enough in the flannel shirt he was wearing.  He had only brought along a light windbreaker.   The gift shop was open and luckily they had some warm jackets on clearance so Monte purchased one. 

 After stamping my passport at the stamping station and getting some info from the ranger, we got back in the car and drove six miles to the Bumpass Hell parking lot. 

 

Bumpass Hell is a 3 mile roundtrip hike over rocky terrain with grand vistas.  The trail was named after K R Bumpass, a guide and explorer.  The Hell part of the trail name came after Bumpass lost his leg in 1864 after stepping into a boiling mud pool  and quoted Virgil that the, “descent to Hell was easy.”

It was already 12:30 by the time we parked so we ate lunch sitting on a boulder taking in the scenery. 

 After a quick trip to the restroom, we set off on the hike.

As we steadily climbed I kept thinking that the trail wasn’t that difficult and it was going to be easy coming back as we would be going downhill.  BUT I didn’t know that after a mile the next half mile was all downhill.  It was very steep and I knew it was going to be a challenge climbing back up on the return trip. 

 

We noticed two things as we descended.  The first was the drastic climate change.  It was very warm so we took off our jackets.  The second thing we noticed was the strong sulfur smell from Big Boiler, which is the hottest fumaroles within a non-erupting volcano in the world. 

  We observed the steaming fumaroles and bubbling mud pots from the safety of a wooden boardwalk.  It had taken us one hour to reach Big Boiler and two hours on the return trip.  It had been an exhilarating hike but I sure was glad to see the parking lot.

 

After looking at the map, we decided to continue on the road through the park that would eventually take us to Manzanita Lake Entrance.  We wanted to check out the campground there for future reference to see if the sites could accommodate our rig.  The drive took us through winding curves and past a devastated area that still showed the remnants of a fire.  Before leaving the park we drove around one loop of the Manzanita Campground and found there were several big rigs camping there.  It is the type of place we would like to camp at but too late in the season to do so this year.  Two loops are already closed and the water for the remaining open loop is being turned off next week.  If we are ever up this way again we would consider staying at the campground for the 10 day limit.

We headed towards Redding because Monte wanted to stop in at Camping World.  He had spoken to someone who works there and had said that they close at 6pm.  We arrived at 5:20 only to find that the store closes at 5 on Saturday.  Grrrr.  Since we were already in Redding and needed cat food we plugged in Petco in the GPS and found there was one only a few miles away.  After making our purchase we went into a sporting goods store to look at the trekking poles they had in stock.  We really could have used them earlier in the day during our hike.  Monte found a pair he liked and purchased them.  I am going to see how he likes his before buying a pair for me.

It was already 6:30 by this time and we were getting hungry.  I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until we exited the sporting goods store and smelled the aroma of grilled meat.  We noticed there was an Applebee’s across the street and assumed that is where the aroma was emanating from.  We have been pretty conservative with our dining out budget so we decided to splurge.  Since I already had steaks sitting in the fridge at home that I planned on grilling on Sunday, we both ordered ribs.  They were delicious! 

The only complaint I have about our dinner at Applebee’s is that they do not have anytime 2 for 1 drinks like they do in the Florida Applebee’s.  I asked our waiter about it and he said they have an actual “happy hour” (that we missed by a half hour) and he had never heard of an any time of the day 2 for 1.  I should have asked before I ordered a glass of wine that cost almost $6.00. 

After dinner we took a ride to an area attraction, the Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay.

  It is a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge for bicycles and pedestrians that spans the Sacramento River and forms a large sundial.  We didn’t stay long as the bridge is a bit of a walk from the parking lot and I hadn’t brought a jacket with me and I was very uncomfortable. 

 

During the 30 minute drive back to the campground, Monte asked me if I remembered the code to the gate.  I didn’t and we were expecting to have to park the car at the gate and walk the mile in the dark to the rig to retrieve the code.  But, when we arrived at the gate is was still open and we read on the sign that they close the gate from 10pm to 6am and as it was only 9pm we had gotten back in plenty of time.

We were both exhausted from another adventurous day.