Three days in Lassen Volcanic National Park

Packed, loaded and ready to roll.

 Finally off to the high country! I checked around from Bishop up to Shasta to see which areas were clearest from statewide forest fire smoke. There had been a big fire on Mount Diablo in the East Bay recently. Things were still sketchy around Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra with the Rim Fire still active. There was a fire somewhere around Shasta. Late in the season after 2 dry years fires anywhere at anytime could be expected.
I called Lassen National Park and the ranger told me what I wanted to hear. It was clear and expected to be clear for the weekend. Of course that could change in a matter of hours but it was good enough news to pack up and head across the north bay and the Sacramento River Delta. Then north up through the Sacramento Valley the northern part of California's great Central Valley. The air was typically hazy like cloudy soup sitting in the bowl created by the north Coast Range (up to 9,000') and the Northern Sierra and Cascade Ranges (up to 10,500' with Lassen Peak).

Consumer zombie robots

After about 4 hours I get to Red Bluff. This is the small town where you turn on Hwy. 36 to go east into the mountains. Needed some food, gas and a few supplies. I was directed by a local at the gas station to a place called Foodmaxx.
Didn't need much. Maybe some cheese and a few pieces of chicken etc.
Upon entering this huge behemoth of a store I was immediately overwhelmed with a sense of shoppers bewilderment. The shelves were stacked to the ceiling it seemed with bulk consumer madness. Customers appeared lost among the aisles of towering stacks of boxes of Pop Tarts, Ready Whip and cereal.
I managed to find a kid who worked there and asked him where I could find some chicken. He pointed off across the place like a stranger in a city points a few blocks away toward  a store or restaurant out of sight behind masses of concrete and noise. Of course after some navigation I arrived at the bulk meat department only to quickly turn around and head for the door in mild disqust since I didn't need 10 lbs of chicken which was the smallest package available and wasn't about to look for a butcher to procure a small amount from. More than ready to leave Red Bluff by now and after finding a smaller more suitable grocery I was gladly on my way out of town.

Smokestack lightning

Driving up through the foothills I noticed some big clouds ahead. Around 3 PM I pulled off the highway on a forest road a few miles before the south entrance to Lassen National Park. The sky had been building with the heat of the afternoon into some pretty impressive thunderheads. I decided to take a nap after eating lunch on the way in. After settling in for a few moments the heavens crackled and the ground shook with a thunderous roar as a bolt of lightning struck shockingly close to the van. Than another. I was parked in a clearing surrounded by tall pines and decided it was time to get out of there.
I continued into the park to a place where it was clear of immediate threats from above. After some rest and coffee I headed off road for a few small hikes around 4 PM.
My knee had been slightly swollen for a few days but I wasn't concerned about taking a small hike up to Diamond Peak a short distance from the road. It felt great just to get out into the fresh light and smells of high altitude terrain . It was summer warm and the sky was full of activity from clear blue to dark thunderheads and rain showers accentuated by occasional lightning and thunder.

Arriving at the summit rocks of Diamond Peak I decided not to venture up onto them with my knee in a brace but it felt really good to be out there in the mountain elements again.
Then towards sunset I drove up to "Lassen Pass". This is the 8,512' high point on Hwy 89 in the park below Lassen Peak. Parking in the Lassen Peak parking lot I headed across the road a ways and up the north ridge of Mount Helen. This was a fun scramble up through stable blocks about a half mile to an approximate summit on a ridge line. By now it was getting on sunset and the sky was full of high drama from distant rainstorms to rainbows, blazing sunsets and a waxing moon amidst it all. After a very exhilarating evening of summer hiking I drove back to the forest road clearing to camp for the night.

Pilot Pinnacle

Pilot Pinnacle was the only peak in the immediate area around Lassen Peak with the exception of Chaos Crags and Vulcans Castle on the northwest side that I hadn't climbed. It looks imposing from most sides but I figured it had a class 3 route on it somewhere. A young ranger at the headquarters confirmed the west side was class 3 and also told me the north ridge was harder with some loose rock.
I parked by the roadside below the pinnacle and started ascending the steep slope to the the saddle between Point 8,740' and Ski Heil Peak.
I had thought I ascended this before when I did Loomis Peak in '05 and remember it being pretty easy. But this time I started a considerable distance away from that route. Wouldn't you know it! Now I'm in steep sand and scree pissing about grumbling and looking for a way out of it all!
Not to worry. Huffing and puffing along before long I'm up scrambling over point 8,740' on the way to Pilot Pinnacle. The climb was typical class 3 as predicted with an easy summit area. The sky was still full of beautiful clouds but not as dramatic as yesterday.
The immediate drop down from Pilot Pinnacle looked real steep and covered with nasty volcanic scree so I went back over Point 8,740' again and quickly sand surfed back down the slope landing on my butt once on the way to the road. It was only 2 miles round trip but took me half a day because of all the sand/scree and class 3 negotiating along the way.

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