Lassen!

So...first adventure of Summer 2008 camping happened this last weekend. It was gooooooood times. I was a little sad that it is September and this was the first time getting out and about, but hey, when forest fires threaten those campsites, its probably not a good time to go and pitch your tent.

The drive up the mountain was short...good talks make for short drives. We quickly arrived at our campsite...one of the only ones left at 530pm on a Friday. We were lucky that we got a choice spot near the bathrooms (which, FYI, were some of the nicest camping bathrooms I've ever seen! Mirrors! Flushing toilets! Ooh, la la!)

First destination after setting up camp: Bumpass Hell. The boardwalk. (Not to be confused with the boardwalks in Jersey...this variety is decidedly more smelly and with less carnies.) The hike over was surprisingly short, which i was grateful for, as we were getting going around 7pm, and as we were hiking the sun was setting. We finally made it over to the sulphur pits, experienced them in all their glory, did some glamour shots, read any and all informational signs and then scurried back up the hill at twilight to get back to the car. Glamour shots follow:

Admittedly, for about 20 minutes during the hike back from Bumpass to the car, I was super-scared and anxious that we were going to get stuck hiking in the dark. After a few minutes of walking by moonlight, I realized it was no biggie, and relaxed into the experience. After all, people hike Lassen in the moonlight, so hiking back from Bumpass Hell shouldn't be that big of a deal...

Which gave me the best idea ever! I proposed to Holly and Elaine that we go back, make dinner by the campfire and then wake up early, ascend Lassen by mornings first light and see the sunrise on the mountain. As we hiked back to the car, we grew excited about this idea.

We got back to our campsite and made our way to the cooler to pull out the weenies we had brought to fry up. 10 minutes later, Elaine had fired up the pieces of her old fence she brought as firewood and we were ready to burn those suckers up. Dinner came and went...delicious. We sang happy birthday to Elaine and as we all snuggled down into our sleeping bags for the night we realized that we had no way to wake up at 5am, and so decided that if one of us woke up, we would attempt to summit early, but if not, it was OK to wake up at a normal hour and then get going then.

It was such a pleasure, after a night of being almost too cold, that we slept in just a little bit. No early rising, no summiting to see the sunrise. That achievement is left for another time.

Nope, we woke up to the sound of owls making their owl-y noises and birds chirping. After sleepily exiting our tent, Holly went scrounging other campsites for a left-behind log so that we could burn it for our morning coffee. We ate bagels and go-gurt, packed up, and made our way over to the Lassen trail head.

We started the summit attempt at 10am. Here's a picture of me (internally) freaking out at the picture of what is before me:

Now, I am one who likes to know what is ahead of me, both figuratively (in life) and literally (at Lassen). Being that I had never attempted to conquer the mountain before, I kept on asking veterans Elaine and Holly what it was like. Apparently 2.5 miles of switchbacks and a 2000 feet vertical climb. No sweat! I could do that in my sleep! Well, actually, I couldn't, I'd have to be fully awake...but I digress.

The ascent, when in my slow, taking many breaks style, was easy. Yeah, the air was thinner than I am used to, but all in all, it was a good time! I would do it again in a heartbeat. What made it easy also was the fact that we were not the only ones who were climbing the mountain that day...we saw people of all nationalities and walks of life. Kids with their dads, high-schoolers on class trips, Grandpas and Grandmas who were slowly making their way to the top. It was nice to see so many people doing what we were doing, albeit at their own pace. Doing it at our own pace:

We made it to the top, explored around the summit for a little bit. Holly was right: it does look like the surface of the moon (if I would imagine what the moon's surface would look like). We picked ourselves a nice little perch, ate our lunch and talked politics. (Here: I am absolutely fascinated by political talk:)

I pulled out my Us Weekly which had an article on Sarah Palin's baby (or is that her daughters baby? who knows...). After lunch, and a quick bathroom break, we were ready for the trek down. It took us an amazingly short time to get down the mountain, and when we finally got back to the car, we checked the time, and realized we had been up there for 3.75 hours. The estimated time for the round-trip is about 4-5 hours, so I was happy that even with my slow pace, we were able to be better than the estimate. Boo-yah 4-5 hour Mt. Lassen trekkers. We're better than you.

We jumped in the car, putting in the "Hairspray" soundtrack, and quickly I was experiencing surround-sound singing to "Hairspray"...well, holly and Elaine singing, I was just listening and humming at the more memorable parts, as I've only seen the movie once.

Next stop: Subway Caves, 15 minutes outside of Lassen National Park, recommendation from Mel and Charlie as a "must do" when in the area. We made our way there, and once arrived, dressed warmer and put back on our tennis shoes, as the cave floor promised to be a little more uneven and the temperature in the cave was a cool 46 degrees. Yikes! We headed towards the entrance, and a nice woman who had just exited the cave stops us and offers us glow sticks to use as bracelets. Should we get separated, we'll be able to see each other!

My headlamp and E's flashlight came out, as we made our way to the stairs that would lead us to the cave.

Now, here's where the story gets hairy. We get down to the cave...its actually really a sweet thing to do, until someone in your group (Elaine) mentions that this would be a good lair for a serial killer to hide out in. At that moment, as we are walking, huddled closely to each other, I start thinking about serial killers, and immediately, my headlamp starts going dim, and Elaine's flashlight is turning that familiar shade of orange that means that we are just 2 minutes away from battery-exhaustion and utter darkness. And, all the while we're wearing glow-stick bracelets that will automatically announce to the serial killer waiting in Lucifer's Cul-De-Sac that we are coming his way. (Lucifer's Cul-De-Sac is an actual location in the cave...scary.)

So, I did the only thing I knew how to do. I got angry at Elaine... and told her that this is how people die in the wilderness. They go into situations thinking that they will be OK, but then their equipment is faulty and then they die. Was I being a little dramatic? Heck yes I was. But, I was not down with getting a)killed by a serial killer in Lucifer's cul-de-sac or b) freezing to death because I can't find my way out of a pitch-black cave. So, we turned around and she took this picture of me that will remind her that joking about serial killers in scary pitch-black caves is NEVER a good idea, EVER!

Here's to Holly and Elaine: great camping buddies who make everything just a little more fun.