Located in our campground is an amazing trail which meanders through the forest before the final destination: the Cinder Cone.
This challenging trail allows visitors to experience the wonder of Cinder Cone Volcano first hand. A leaflet for the Cinder Cone Nature Trail is available at the park visitor centers and the trailhead. Numbered posts on the trail correspond to stops in this leaflet that explain various features along the trail. I joined Steve until he ascended the cone. I just wasn't feeling it.
Here at Stop 12, at the edge of the lava flow, is one of the few exposed sedimentary soils in the park. This whitish soil is the silica-rich remains of diatoms, microscopic plants that live at the bottoms of both salt and fresh bodies of water and provide food for plant-eating organisms. They know that Butte Lake existed before Cinder Cone formed as the diatomite lies beneath the lava flow and must have been present before the volcano erupted.
Okay so what about this Cinder Cone? The cone was built to a height of 750 feet above the surrounding area and spread ash over 30 square miles. Then, like many cinder cones, it was snuffed out when several basalt lava flows erupted from its base. These flows, called the Fantastic Lava Beds, spread northeast and southwest.
Its age has been controversial since the 1870s, when many people thought it was only a few decades old. Later, the cone and associated lava flows were thought to have formed about 1700 or during a 300-year- long series of eruptions ending in 1851. Recent studies by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists, working in cooperation with the National Park Service to better understand volcanic hazards in the Lassen area, have firmly established that Cinder Cone was formed during two eruptions that occurred in the 1650s.
Oh man, and what about the hike to the top? The trail we did together climbed gently at first, then steepened as Cinder Cone came into view. At 1.2 miles, the trail reached a fork at the base of Cinder Cone. This is where Steve and I parted ways. I loved this advice, "Be sure to take a break in the shade of the surrounding Jeffrey Pines before following the trail and beginning the heart-pumping climb to the top of the cone."
There he is at the top! Wow right?
And what views he was rewarded with...
The trail was pretty crowded when we was heading back down. He was pretty pleased with himself. Deemed strenuous by the park guide, this 4 mile hike, at elevations from 6,061 ft - 6,907 ft was one I aspire to next time and one Steve was glad he accomplished this time.
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1 comments:
Yep, that is a classic cinder cone, alright.
That looks like a really fun path!
I would like to partake in that too!
Race you to the top, Denise! :)
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