Hi All. I’m back. First I would like to thank Cathryn and Petra who wished me Happy Birthday. Thank you very much. Not unlike fine wine I think I may be changing into vinegar, as my disposition seems to going down hill. Hal my partner in crime of more then 50 years says what do you mean changing? You have always been a mean crouch and now you are a mean old crouch.

I went up to my friends place in Susanville and it was while we were sipping on some wine that he asked me if I wanted to go to Adin, California with him. I asked him what was there. He said, “Nothing, I just want to go there.” I said, “Okay, lets go.” We left the next morning and that was the beginning of our adventures.

He wasn’t kidding when he said there was nothing there. All we saw were about 30 homes and a general store. There was no gas station that I could see anywhere so that shot the Lakeview, Oregon trip down. It was still a 3-hour drive from where we were at. We checked out the general store and found that they have a good display of Indian artifacts there. Also quite expensive so I didn’t buy anything. Kind of sorry now that I didn’t. That’s a good reason for making another trip though.

I decided then to go into the Hat Creek area as this is the area where they had a quake swarm a couple of years ago. I wanted to see what the area looked like. Didn’t see anything that would give reason for the quakes, but had no problem in seeing that this area was full of volcanic activity at one time. There was a lave floor like area that was covered with a couple of inches of sand. Hat Creek cuts right through the lava and the water is like ice. You can’t leave your hand in for more then 30 seconds before it starts to hurt.

Located just up the road from where we at is Subway Cave. This is a lava tube that was formed about 20,000 years ago during an eruption of Mount Lassen. The lava tube was discovered when the ceiling caved in. The cave is about 1100 feet long and isn’t very deep. It is however cold as hell inside. The outside temperature at the time was around 84 degrees. The temperature inside the cave was 47 degrees and darker then the inside of a black dog. It is recommended that you carry a flashlight with extra batteries and a jacket. Good shoes are a must as the floor of the cave can be hard on the soles of the shoes not to mention the feet. After we left there we decided to go through Lassen Park as neither of us have been there for more then 30 years.

Although Lassen Peak and the other volcanoes in the park area are no longer active, there are many signs that the area is still very much geologically alive. These include several areas of geothermal activity.

Sulphur Works lies at the center of the ancient Mt. Tehama also known as Brokentop and the ancient mountain's summit lay some 4000 feet above this place. Sulphur Works is aptly named; the smell of hydrogen sulfide in the area is overpowering. A blind person would know where he was.

I counted 11 fumaroles in the area. One of them is about 15 feet from the road (highway 89) we used to travel through the area. You could see a small stream of water running from under the hill it was located in. I couldn’t see any out let, but there has to be one there as the little pool never filled up. At least not while we were there.

Eight of the fumaroles are on the other side and are located anywhere from 3 feet to about 20 feet from the road. Didn’t see any water coming from them, but there was a good amount of steam coming from them. The other two fumaroles are located up a small canyon.

There is a wooden walkway you can use to get to them. There is a small one at the edge of a stream in the bottom of the canyon, but you can’t see the source as it’s under the hill. About 30 yards further up is the largest fumaroles in the area. I didn’t see any water associated with this one either, but there was quite a bit of steam coming out of the ground. You could also hear a sound somewhat like what you get when you cook oatmeal. Bloop, Bloop, or something like that. Anyway that is what it reminded me of.

Another famous geothermal area in the park is Bumpass Hell, named after a gentleman named Kendall Bumpass who fell through the crust here in 1864 suffered serious burns on his leg. The burns were so serious that he had to have his leg amputated. The water beneath the surface here is 125 to 196 degrees and it is believed that Bumpass Hell and Sulphur Works lie above an active magma chamber. It is believed that Bumpass Hell and Sulphur Works are the remnants of Brokeoff volcano.

The Lassen geothermal area -- Sulphur Works, Bumpass Hell (largest), Little Hot Springs Valley, Boining Springs Lake, Devils Kitchen, and Terminal Geyser -- offer bubbling mud pots, steaming fumaroles, and boiling water. Some of these thermal features are getting hotter.

The evolution of the Lassen volcanic area began with the construction of Brokeoff volcano, an andesitic stratovolcano. Glacial erosion, enhanced by hydrothermal alteration of permeable cone rocks, has resulted in deep erosion of Brokeoff volcano. The major erosional remnants, Brokeoff Mountain, Mount Diller, Mount Conard, and Diamond Peak, enclose a central depression that marks the position of Brokeoff volcano, which was approximately 3,350 meters high, had a basal diameter of approximately 12 kilometers, and a volume of about 80 cubic kilometers. Potassium-argon ages of lavas from Brokeoff volcano range from 0.59-0.39 million years ago. This would mean that Brokeoff was active for approximately 200,000 years.

Coincident with the extinction of Brokeoff volcano was a major change in the character of volcanism in the Lassen volcanic area. Activity shifted to the north flank of Brokeoff volcano and became more silicic and episodic. Three sequences of silicic lavas and a group of hybrid lavas were erupted in the last 400,000 years.

Before Lassen Peak was emplaced, Brokeoff volcano had collapsed, but its caldera was breached and no lake developed as did Crater Lake in Oregon. Brokeoff volcano main vent was probably what is now the park's Sulphur Works. Remnants of its caldera flanks are Brokeoff Mountain, Mount Diller, Pilot Pinnacle, and Mount Conrad. When you connect these peaks in a circle you can see that Brokeoff volcano base is more than 11 miles wide.

We drove over the summit which is more then 8,000 feet high. It was sort of a test to see how my new 2004 Ford Escape would perform at that altitude. Have to admit that I was quite impressed with it.

There was still snow at this elevation and I will have to admit that I got out and played in like a little kid. Mount Lassen was still above us, but I could see that there was nothing growing on the side of it and in all likelihood nothing would ever grow there and there is nothing but rock. There may be some moss or lichen, but that is about it.

I learned more, but will have to verify what I was told before posting on it.

I had a great time and can’t wait until our next trip. Have no idea as to where it will be and most likely won’t know until I get there. Hope you enjoy. Take Care…Don in creepy town

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Lassen/description_lassen.html
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/lavo/
http://www.shannontech.com/ParkVision/Lassen/Lassen.html