Lassen - Bumpass Hell Hike - Exactly!

This was one of those hikes that we did with our little children and the destination was stinky!  What I remember about it was that it smelled like rotten eggs and Kate especially hated the smell.  Imagine my surprise when she said she wanted to take her kids on this hike to Bumpass Hell!  Kate had invited Hillary and her family to join us for the day and so they went with us on this hike.  When we got to the trail head it was covered in snow but we decided to plug on anyway...

This is a pic of me at about the halfway point -- Once I got a "walking stick" that Hillary kindly gave to me, I was able to travel much more quickly, but until then it was a tough go on the slippery snow...

Rob fit as a fiddle enjoying the out of doors :p

Here is a picture of our destination....the sulphur pits and hot pools...No one gave up and we all made it even Hillary's littlest one, Max, made it after a little coaxing...

Chase taking a break at one of the pools.  The great thing this time was that it really didn't smell as bad as what I remembered - maybe it was the way the wind was blowing, but both Kate and I agreed that it didn't stink as bad as what we had remembered!  Chase and I played a game where I would ask what I called the proverbial question -- he would say what's that and I would say "Are we there yet?" and he would say no not yet -- finally we made it and I asked the proverbial question and finally, finally, Chase said we were here!

I asked the boys to pose for this picture and hold their noses, but in actuality they didn't seem to think it was so stinky! LOL  Tyler had a walking stick, too, and I think he enjoyed it and felt like a real hiker...

Rob and I, Tyler and Chase in front of the turquoise, clear pool...

Coming back we stopped close to Helen Lake and it was covered with snow and ice.  In all the years that I have been going to Lassen, I don't remember this much snow in August!  The climb to Mt. Lassen Peak was closed 1/3 of the way up...

One of the big snow banks close to the lake.  You can see my "walking stick" in this picture.  Hillary and Max and Ryan and Chase are in this picture, too.

Then after that great hike, I asked Kate, Ryan, Tyler and Chase to push this huge rock.....

Then Kate asked Rob and I to carry it on our backs....The things we will do for a picture!

All in all it was a good experience, but I was glad it was over and that we all made it safely back.  (I only fell once and that was after some guy told me the best way to walk on the snow) -- I think I was doing pretty well without his help... BTW it wasn't Rob who gave me his advice, but someone else along the trail!

Lassen - Kings Creek Falls - A real hike!

This was a major hike for me!  We decided to hike to Kings Creek Falls - approximately three miles round trip -- doesn't sound too hard; however, it was a steep hike both ways!  This was a picture of the beautiful scenry that we enjoyed on our hike (when we stopped along the way so I could rest!)  Most of the time I was trying to place my feet in the right spot so I wouldn't fall.  Oh, did I mention that there was snow on the trail  and because it was more dangerous to go the short way we had to take the "horse trail" - a longer hike and uphill both ways like I said! The date on the pictures shows August 3rd, but it was actually the 4th -

Rob enjoying the hike and the company...

We finally reached the falls and this is a picture at the top...looking down...I wish I had been more prepared and brought a snack to give me some energy for the hike back, but at least I had brought some water as I did get thirsty!  Where's a good candybar when you need it?

I think I was contemplating the walk back in this picture.. Oh the joy :)  Chase and Tyler were real troopers and Chase made it to the falls and back walking the entire way with no help from his dad...

This last picture is a picture of the falls that I copied from a Lassen website...it was much fuller when we were there because of the late run off and the snow melting and adding to the flow...

The amazing thing is I made it back safely and I wanted to go on another hike the next day! -- Go figure :)

Camping at Lassen National Park #1 - August 4, 2011 - The Hot Rock

Kate and Ryan decided that they wanted to go camping at Lassen National Park and invited Rob and I to go -- it didn't take much arm twisting and we made plans and reservations for August 3rd through August 7th, 2011...

I can't take credit for taking this picture, but I wanted everyone to know where we went camping.  This is a picture of Mt. Lassen and Manzanita Lake.  The campground that we stayed at was the Manzanita Lake Campground.  Kate and I like it because it has showers and a general store!  Hurray for showers!!!!  We had a great time camping and I actually slept fine in our huge, huge tent.  It was like living in a big house - just the two of us :)

When our children were little we would go camping at Lassen every year and the way we would measure how much they had grown was by taking pictures of our little family on the "Hot Rock" -- we went to the Hot Rock and took these fun pictures...

Grandpa with Tyler and Chase...

Tyler looking like he is playing "King of the Mountain" and he won!

 Ryan having trouble (pretend, pretend) getting up on the Rock and Chase helping him climb up and Tyler chuckling as Kate enjoys the antics of her little family!

 Picture of Rob and I with our two grandchildren, Tyler and Chase -- how much joy they bring into our lives!  It was a fun day checking out all the places that we had visited on our past trips with our little family...