Beth and I were starting a two-week vacation in the northwest, which would include time in Seattle and in Canada as well as attending the 2004 Highpointers Convention in Puyallup. We had flown into Reno the day before, and after stocking up on food and supplies, drove up to the Lassen Volcanic National Park in California, where we found a site and pitched a simple camp. We planned to spend two days here and hike the two signature peaks within the park: Lassen Peak and Brokeoff Mountain. Lassen Peak is a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1916. It is the southernmost Cascade volcano, a line of volcanoes that stretches into Canada and includes such peaks as Mts. Rainier, Adams, Baker, Hood and Shasta, among others. We arrived to our camping area about 4 p.m. in very nice, clear and dry conditions. We spent the day just sitting around and enjoying the cool temperatures.

We awoke the next day and drove the few miles to the Lassen Peak trailhead, arriving to the large parking area around 8:15 a.m. The lot can hold easily 100 vehicles, but as we rolled in there were five cars already there. We got dressed and got our stuff in order, and in about 15 minutes we were on the route.

The trail starts as a wide road, then switchbacks once, gains moderately, enters a thin stand of pine, then contours mostly east for a short ways, always gaining at a moderate grade. There was a surprising amount of snow still on the ground down low; we were told (and read) that mid-July is often the start of the hiking season for Lassen Peak, since it takes that long for the snows to melt satisfactorily! In fact, around Helen Lake nearby, the ground was mostly snow with occasional open patches, and the lake itself still was iced over in places. In any case, our progress was not hampered at all by the snow. Only in a few spots on the trail did we have to cross it, and often, we just walked around the drifts. Shortly, the trail made a sharp left turn and we could now see the summit for the first time since the parking lot.

From here the trail switchbacks up a sharp souheasterly ridge. The trees, never very thick anywhere, reduced to occasional stands of krumholz and eventually, to nothing. The trail is well maintained, never very steep, but never very flat either; just a consistent moderate-to-steep uphill grind. We had to contend with some extremely strong winds on the exposed ridge. They were sustained 25-30 mph for minutes at a time and gusts over 50, which sometimes forced us to walk in a squatting position or even just to sit out the gusts behind the occasional rocks or shields. Nevertheless, we made good uphill progress. The trail eventually works its way to near a large rocky promontory about a half-mile below the summit. Afterwards the route's gradient lessens and shortly, brings one to the "top", a flattish, gently rounded hump, not far from the true top. We rested here, the wind having graciously died down for us.

The true summit is a little ways to the north. We walked across a snowfield, down into a small depression, then up loose slopes toward the rocks that vie for summit honors. The de-facto summit features a small building, I think used to monitor the activity within the volcano. Another spire of rocks nearby looked nearly as high so we checked it out, too. The views are positively stunning in all directions, a true 360-degree view, especially with today's clear and dry conditions. We stayed up top for about 20 minutes before starting the trek down. Back at the lower sub-summit, we stopped to chat with some people hiking upwards, although we noted a lot of people get to this lower hump and call it good. To each their own - it's still a worthy effort to get up this high. The crowds were definitely starting to amass!

We made good time on the descent, stopping occasionally to snap photos. On our descent, we literally passed over a hundred people coming up. There were lots of families, including one where the littlest hiker, a girl of about 4, was slowly making her way up without assistance from mom or dad. She was real cute and she impressed the hell out of me ... 4 years old, climbing a Cascade peak! We met our camp neighbors also, plus lots others. In time we made it to our car, a round trip of just under 4 hours for the 5 mile hike, right at 2,000 feet of gain. A superb hike with wonderful views. The parking lot was jam-packed; it's reasonable to guess that hundreds of people hike this peak in a day. The trail is in good shape and the veiws are stupendous! We returned to our site, then drove to the Manzanita Visitor's Center to shower and get some grub. Then, back to camp for some relaxing and preparation for the next day's hike of Brokeoff Mountain.