Lassen!

On Saturday, June 30th I rode ~58 miles from Chester, CA to Manzanita Lake Campground, Lassen Volcanic National Park. I hadn't even heard of Lassen before this trip... it was such a treat! Hands down the highlight of the tour.

First was a delicious lunch at the visitors center. I sat with a group of riders who were riding a century from Redding, through Lassen, and back. Some were affiliated with Cyclopedia of Redding, and they regretted that I could not meet their cycling comrade, Daniel, who biked from Redding to the Arctic Circle this summer, and is now on his way back. The Sierras were cold enough for me!

Avo/Hummus/Veggie Wrap

 Lunchtime View

At the visitors center, I nerded out a little at the geological educational things for at least an hour before starting my climb up to the Lassen Peak trailhead, apparently the highest road in the Cascades, at 8512'. On the way, I stopped to take lots of pictures of awesome things:

Brokeoff Mountain - once part of a much larger composite volcano, called Brokeoff Volcano, that towered 1000 feet above Lassen Peak and looked similar to Mount Shasta.

 The area is active! Steam vents here seen from the road were all I saw, but there are plenty of other awesome things I will see when I go back!

 The snow was deeper than my bike near the road's summit! 

Lake Helen! You can't see it here, but parts of this lake are a beautiful Powerade blue. 

I think here you can kind of picture what the peaks to the left of Lassen used to look like, when they were pieces of a larger volcano. 

Manzanita Lake, with cloud-covered Lassen in the background (right). 

Not only was the scenery beautiful, but the climb was very gradual and pleasant, and the traffic was calm, especially for a Saturday in a NP. I think I may have seen more bicycles on the road than cars. Can't wait to go back!