We awoke at 5 AM, did our coffee and then headed to the parking lot for the Bumpass Hell Trail. We wanted to have breakfast there, do the hike and be back before the hoards of tourists arrived. We planned well.
It has been recommended that if there's no other hike you do at Lassen Volcanic National Park, a walk to Bumpass Hell is the one to do (especially at 7 AM during the summer).
This 2.6-mile-round trip hike, through the pines with Lassen Peak rising high above us to the northwest and Brokeoff Mountain off to the south, has a payoff that will leave you thinking you're in Yellowstone National Park. We were beyond excited.
The area took its name from Kendall Vanhook Bumpass, a hunter/cowboy/prospector who is said to have discovered the area in 1864 while looking for stray cattle. As the story goes, Bumpass broke through the thin crust and burned his foot on his first visit. When he returned to camp and the others asked him where he had been, he reportedly replied, "Boys, I have been in Hell."
Warnings were everywhere but this one was my favorite, "CAUTION: Don't let this infernal wonderland become your hell." Well said.
It was a wonderland indeed. So worth the hike to get there. WOW.
We stuck to the boardwalk which provided us with amazing views of the milky, aquamarine main hot spring, which is backed by a throttling steam fumarole, the "Big Boiler." There is the constant sound of thumping here. It is beyond surreal.
We didn't know what to expect as we hiked to this 16-acre thermal basin, cradled in a notch in the mountain. We were pleasantly surprised and we both agreed this was one of our more exceptional destinations. Wow.
"The most beautiful gift of nature
is that it gives one pleasure to look around
and try to comprehend what we see."
-Albert Einstein
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1 comments:
Bumpass (do you think it is pronounced bump-ass or bump-us?) Hell looks amazing! This specific spot in Lassen (On Huell Howser's California's Gold) is what drew me to Lassen last year. And then it was closed!! Oh well, I am sure we will be back. Look at you, you went back within a month! :)
It was a great idea to get there early (but not to skip coffee, that was another great idea). Your pictures turned out amazing!
I bet it gets PRETTY crowded on that path, with all those coffeed and breakfasted visitors...
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