Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Lassen Volcanic National Park: Bumpass Hell

A Poor Man's Yellowstone?
July 21, 2013


Soundtrack:

  • Editors -- The Weight of Your Love
  • U2 -- The Unforgettable Fire
  • The National -- Trouble Will Find Me
  • PJ Harvey -- Dry
I suspect Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the lesser known parks in the system.  It lacks Yosemite's sheer beauty and Yellowstone's swaggering power, but my one day visit definitely has me itching to go back.  The best parks sink their teeth into you and draw you back over and over, and I'm already feeling the pull to return.
Sulphur Works, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA
My mission for the day was a simple one.  I wanted to visit Bumpass Hell.  How could a person resist going to someplace with such a name?  Bumpass Hell.  What does it even mean?
Sulphur Works, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA 
I looked it up online.  The story goes like this:

There was this dude named Kendall Vanhook Bumpass.  He was a mountain man.  He discovered the area known as Bumpass Hell in the 1860s.  He eventually lost one of his legs after it broke through the thin surface near one of the boiling mud pots.  Not the first time it happened, mind you.  The first time it happened his leg was badly burned and was written up in the newspaper.  It was this write up that gave the place its name.  It was on a later trip to Bumpass Hell where the exact same thing happened, only this time his leg was burned so badly it had to be removed.

I don't know, if it was me I probably would have stayed away from the mud pots on those later trips.
Emerald Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA 
Entering the park from the South entrance, there are two main attractions before reaching the Bumpass Hell trail head.  The first is Sulphur Works, which has a large boiling mud pot next to the road.  The other is Emerald Lake, which is aptly named.  It's a tiny little green lake with no obvious outlet.  Both are right by the side of the road.  I was there on a Sunday in late July, which I imagine is peak season, but there weren't a lot of cars passing by so the place felt kind of remote even with the car parked only a hundred yards away or so.
On the Trail to Bumpass Hell, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA 
The trail to Bumpass Hell is one of the nicer trails I've ever been on.  Keep in mind, that's not saying a whole lot.  It's been a little over a year since I started going on these weekend adventures.  Before that, I didn't get out all that much.  This hike is half the fun, though.  Part of it is carved out of the side of a cliff.  It's only a mile and a half one way, slowly ascending 600 feet before dropping abruptly 250 feet into Hell.
Bumpass Hell, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA 
Bumpass Hell consists of a number of tightly-packed volcanic features.  It's got mud pots, hot springs and fumaroles.  There aren't any geysers, but that's about all that's missing.  Well, I mean aside from an actual lava flow.  If this was in Yellowstone, it would be just another stop on the grand loop.  Within Lassen it has its own charm, though.  This area used to be 3000 feet underground, beneath a large mountain that blew it's top scores of centuries ago.
Bumpass Hell, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA 
There were probably a couple of dozen cars in the parking lot.  It's a short out and back hike, so you'll bump into just about everyone there either coming or going.  It's also a narrow trail in places, so passing is sometimes a little difficult.  I've heard this characterized as an easy hike, but keep in mind you'll have a total of 850 feet of elevation gain going out and coming in.  It was sunny and hot the day I was there, and I took my time on the return, especially the steep exit out of Bumpass Hell.  I wouldn't characterize it as an easy hike, but I think it's one my seventy year old parents could handle, so it's not too tough either, especially if you're willing to take breaks going up the steep section out of Hell.
Bumpass Hell, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA 
There were times when the other people on the trail were pretty obnoxious, but at other times it could be very quiet.  There were some wonderfully well-behaved kids there who were really into the whole experience.  There were some rotten kids, too, the sort that should have just been left at home with their playstations.  Rotten kids suck.
Part of the Cliff Section of the Bumpass Hell Trail, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA 
I've got a lot left to see at Lassen.  I can't wait to get back.

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