We were set to leave and head West the next day, so Sunday we took a last hike into the backcountry of Lassen. We didn't want to go to another thermal area or volcanic site, but just find a lake or two in this pretty mountain area. We found what we were looking for at Ledges Lake, Shadow Lake and Cliff Lake, all in a four-mile round trip hike without a lot of climbing. We saw very few people on the trail and we had Cliff Lake at the end of the hike all to ourselves to contemplate (or nap) in peace.
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| Looking down on Shadow Lake |
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| Looking back up toward Mt. Lassen from the other side of Shadow Lake |
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| Cliff Lake |
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| Another view of Lassen over Lake Helen from the park road. |
According to the Tahoe daily Tribune: "Annual snowfall at Lassen National Park is epic, the most recorded in California. At the Lake Helen snow survey site, elevation 8,200 feet, an average annual 660 inches (55 feet) of snow buries the area each winter. Some years more than 1,000 inches (83 feet) of snowfall has been measured there. Despite Lassen’s relatively modest elevation, the heavy snowfall sustains 14 permanent patches of snow in the park."
You can see from my pictures that not a speck of snow is seen on the mountains this dry, dry year.
The other thing that is epic at Lassen are the dark skies on a moonless night. This shot is taken right outside our trailer looking South. Of course the camera exaggerates the brightness of the stars, but it still looks pretty good to the naked eye!
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