[Illustration: Look for numbered stakes along the road.]
1 THE RAKER MEMORIAL was sponsored by the California State Chamber of
Commerce in 1931 in honor of Congressman John E. Raker who was
Representative of the State for 15 years. It was he who introduced the
successful bill to Congress recommending the establishment of Lassen
Volcanic National Park. The bill was signed by Pres. Wilson on August 9,
1916. John Raker died in 1926. Appropriately, this is also the boundary
between the National Park and Lassen National Forest. Although the
National Park Service and the National Forest Service differ in
conservation policies, they cooperate very closely on mutual matters,
such as forest fire and forest pest control.
[Illustration: Lassen Volcanic National Park stele]
(0.5 mile)
2 THE BROKEOFF MOUNTAIN TRAIL starts here on the uphill side of the
road. It is a 3.5 mile hike to the summit at 9,235 feet. The elevation
here at the road is 6,640 feet.
The common shrub-like trees along the first part of the trail are the
mountain alder and willow. (see sketch). In the fall the willow leaves
turn bright yellow. Both species lose their leaves in winter.
[Illustration: MT. ALDER]
[Illustration: WILLOW]
(0.4 mile)
3 THE NEW SOUTHWEST ENTRANCE STATION was completed in the summer of
1966. Entry permits, which are required during the summer season, are
sold here.
(0.3 mile)
4 THE VISITOR USE BUILDING was also completed in the summer of 1966. It
is designed primarily for winter use with the ski slopes nearby.
Lunches, souvenirs and information may be obtained here in the summer
season also.
(0.8 mile)
5 SULPHUR WORKS is the most easily accessible hydrothermal area in the
Park. It is probably part of the central vent system of ancient Mt.
Tehama which is described at No. 7. A short paved trail leads to the
sputtering hot springs, steaming fumeroles and hot bubbling mud pots.
For your own safety be sure to stay on the trails in any of the thermal
areas. Slippery clay and thin crusty coverings could lead to a dunking
in scalding hot water and mud. Most water in the thermal areas of the
Park contain sulphurous or sulphuric acid, so avoid getting it on your
clothes. The odor is mainly that of hydrogen sulphide. Much of the white
clay is tinted yellow, tan or pink by mineral impurities, chiefly iron
oxides.
The name Sulphur Works was first used in 1865 when efforts were made by
T. M. Boarman and Dr. M. Supan to develop the sulphur and clay
potentialities of the area. This land was filed upon originally as a
mining claim but was actively used only for the tourist trade beginning
about 1940. Some of the non-acidic thermal water was used for hot baths.
The property was acquired by the Federal Government in 1951 and added to
the National Park to be used as a natural thermal area exhibit.
(0.3 mile)
In early summer the flowers along the road for the next mile or two, are
spectacular. Yellow balsam root (with arrowhead-shaped leaves), mules
ears (with similar blossoms), and blue stickseed, which looks like
forgetmenot, are the most showy. In late summer tall stalks of false
hellebore and yellow senecio are common.
(0.1 mile)
[Illustration: MULES EARS (yellow)]
[Illustration: BALSAM ROOT (yellow)]
[Illustration: BLUE STICKSEED]
[Illustration: SENECIO (yellow)]
6 ELEVATION 7,000 FEET. Just ahead is a magnificent specimen of western
white pine. Being one of the white pine group, it has five needles in a
bundle. Its cone is about ⅓ the size of its near relative of lower
(Transition Life Zone) elevations, the sugar pine. Its limbs grow far
down on the trunk because they get plenty of light for the manufacture
of food. Shading in dense forests causes a sloughing off of lower limbs,
resulting in natural pruning.
(0.4 mile)
[Illustration: WESTERN WHITE PINE (five needles)
Mature Cone, 6 in. Young Cones and Foliage]
7 BROKEOFF MOUNTAIN, the second highest peak in the park. The volcanic
lava and ash layers are abruptly broken off on the north side, hence the
name “Brokeoff”. This mountain is a flank remnant of ancestral Mount
Tehama which once towered more than 1,000 feet higher than Lassen Peak.
Tehama was a composite, or strato-type volcano like Mt. Shasta. It was
destroyed by a series of cracks, called faults, which cut Tehama into
huge blocks. These sunk, causing collapse of the great mountain. Mt.
Conard to the southeast, and the ridge between Brokeoff and Lassen Peak,
are also remnants of the Tehama rim, all dipping away from the center of
the old volcano.
On the southeast horizon are the Sierra Nevada, with Childs Meadow
closer in. To the north is the ragged top of Diamond Peak with a natural
window through the rocks on the upper right near the skyline.
(0.6 mile)
8 DIAMOND POINT, on the southeast flank of Diamond Peak. This rock is
volcanic agglomerate, a mass of volcanic ejecta which became stuck
together by small amounts of still molten lava. Nearby is one of the
volcanic vents of ancestral Mt. Tehama. The material on top of Diamond
Peak is explosive debris slightly consolidated by the cementing action
of volcanic ash and is called tuff. It has weathered into very rough and
rugged forms.
There is an excellent view of Mt. Conard.
Mill Creek Canyon below has been glaciated; Childs Meadow is visible at
the mouth of the canyon.
(0.4 mile)
9 LASSEN PEAK SIGN. This is one of the best views of the south side of
Lassen Peak. To the left of it is sharp Eagle Peak and rounded Ski Heil.
To the right, across the canyon at eye level, the red coloring is due to
iron oxides, and the yellow-green is due to millions of lichen plants on
the rocks. Across the roadway at the roadbank is cool drinking and car
radiator water. Watch for autos when crossing the highway!
(0.1 mile)
10 THE SLOPING LAYERS OF LAVA AND ASH across the canyon to the east were
part of ancestral Mt. Tehama. Just to the right are highly colored rocks
that were once grey andesite lavas, but they have been chemically
altered by steam and sulphurous acid from below. The white areas are
largely clay with some non-precious opal. The tans, red, and purple are
stains of iron oxides. Volcanic fumes reach the surface abundantly in
this area, rising along fault cracks. Deep in the canyon below lies
picturesque little Ink Lake.
(0.2 mile)
11 THE HUGE BOULDERS on the west (uphill) side of the road are chunks of
cemented volcanic fragments which have rolled down from the top of
Diamond Peak.
Lassen Peak is visible to the north (up canyon) from this vicinity,
picturesquely framed by roadside trees.
(1.4 miles)
12 Rugged DIAMOND PEAK below, nearly encircled by Lassen Park Road, was
named for the occurrence of occasional small, double-ended quartz
crystals and diamond-shaped calcite crystals. These were deposited by
hot volcanic waters that seeped through its already hardened lavas after
volcanic eruptions had ceased. The mountain is the tough lava feeder, or
core, of prehistoric Mount Tehama. Diamond Peak has resisted the sinking
and weathering which reduced its surroundings.
(0.7 mile)
13 HEAD OF LITTLE HOT SPRINGS VALLEY. The “U”-shape cross section of the
canyon indicates glacial widening in contrast to the “V”-shape found in
non-glaciated stream cut canyons. There is another hot spring area
above, near the base of Pilot Pinnacle.
[Illustration: Landscape]
THE SIERRA NEVADA
BUMPASS MT.
MT. CONARD
DIAMOND PEAK
LITTLE HOT SPRING VALLEY
(0.3 mile)
14 EMERALD POINT: A few yards away is the best view of the southwestern
portion of the park. Left to right is Mt. Conard, Little Hot Springs
Valley, Diamond Peak, Brokeoff Mtn., Mt. Diller, Pilot Pinnacle, Ski
Heil, Eagle Peak, and Lassen Peak.
In his book “The Mountains of California”, John Muir wrote of the lovely
mountain hemlocks. “Some of the finest groves I have yet found are on
the south slopes of Lassen’s Butte.”
(0.2 mile)
15 EMERALD LAKE, of glacial origin, was named for its beautiful green
color. Fishing is not allowed in this lake, and since it is planted with
fish, large Rainbow Trout can be seen close to shore. Please do not
spoil the beauty of this spot by littering the lake or the shore with
tin cans and other refuse.
This point is just over 8,000 feet elevation, in the Hudsonian Life
Zone. Here the mountain hemlock trees, with their graceful nodding tops,
and the noisy grey, black, and white jay known as the Clark’s
nutcracker, are most conspicuous and typical forms of life.
The smooth slopes on Ski Heil Peak behind Emerald Lake are unexcelled
for skiing.
(0.3 mile)
[Illustration: CLARKS NUTCRACKER (grey with black and white)]
[Illustration: MT. HEMLOCK (immature purple cones)]
16 GLACIAL ERRATIC. This great isolated lava boulder, perched on the
outside edge of the road just south of the Bumpass Hell parking area,
was carried by a glacier from the southeast base of Lassen Peak and
deposited here when the ice river melted. The rock on which it lies has
a scratched, grooved, and highly polished surface. This is the work of
rocks frozen into the base of the thick glacier, which moved over this
area and into the valley below during the Ice Age. There are few places
where such evidence of volcanic heat and glacial ice is found. Please
park at No. 17 if you wish to walk to the Glacial Erratic.
(0.1 mile)
[Illustration: Landscape]
17 BUMPASS HELL PARKING AREA. The Bumpass Hell self-guiding nature
trail, with explanatory leaflets provided enroute, is a 1.1 mile walk to
the edge of the hot spring basin. This is Lassen’s most spectacular and
diversified hydrothermal area. The walk through it involves another
mile. In midsummer wildflowers are excellent along the trail: bog kalmia
and Brewer mountainheath (low pink flowering shrubs), coast erysimum
(orange), Newberry penstemon (red), and silverleaf lupine are the most
conspicuous. Pinemat manzanita (white), rabbitbrush (yellow), and
chinquapin (cream-colored) are dwarf shrubs which are also common.
[Illustration: BOG KALMIA (pink)]
[Illustration: COAST ERYSIMUM (orange)]
[Illustration: BREWER MOUNTAINHEATH (deep rose)]
[Illustration: SATIN LUPINE (blue)]
[Illustration: NEWBERRY PENSTEMON (dark red)]
You can hike through Bumpass Hell and continue via Cold Boiling Lake to
Kings Creek Campground. It is an easy walk of 4 miles, most of which is
downhill.
(0.2 mile)
18 LAKE HELEN is a deep, blue, glacial lake at 8,164 feet elevation. It
is frozen over for 7 or 8 months a year, and is very cold even in summer
being 39 degrees at depth. Lake Helen is exceptional among Lassen’s
lakes in that fish plantings here have been unsuccessful ... perhaps
because of a lack of native food.
This body of water was named by Major Pierson B. Reading for Mrs. Helen
Tanner Brodt who ascended Lassen Peak with him in 1864, the first woman
known to have made the climb.
Lassen Peak is across the lake to the northwest. The cliffs represent
portions of the original plug of stiff, pasty dacite lava which was
forced up rapidly as a unit through the crust of the earth. Along the
right shoulder of Lassen the trail zig-zags up the mountain.
On the side of the road away from the lake is a large andesite lava
outcrop of vertical plates, or slabs. Known as jointing, this has been
caused by strains set up in the cooling lava mass after it hardened.
This helps to wear away mountains because water seeps into these cracks
and wedges them apart when it freezes and expands.
(0.2 mile)
19 LAKE HELEN PICNIC AREA. In 1933 a bronze plaque was placed here by
Ethel Brodt Wilson and her children through the sponsorship of the
Shasta Historical Society. It reads: “Lake Helen, elevation 8,164 feet.
Named for Helen Tanner Brodt by Major Pierson B. Reading in honor of her
being the first white woman to see the lake and to make the ascent of
Lassen Peak August 28, 1864....”
Just south is the snow-measuring course, identified by yellow and red
markers in the hemlock trees and a tall iron pipe.
(0.2 mile)
20 The Park Service WINTER CONTROL CABIN is a hundred yards east
(uphill) of the road. It is used by Park Rangers on ski patrols and on
the monthly winter snow-measuring trips. The latter are conducted in
cooperation with the State of California Snow Survey. The depth of snow
pack and the amount of water it contains determines the schedule of
commercial water-use activities in the valley for the following summer.
Snow packs of 20 feet representing a snowfall of over 50 feet, are
common in this area.
(0.4 mile)
21 Scenic view of LAKE HELEN and the western half of the REMNANTS OF
COLLAPSED MT. TEHAMA. This ancestral mountain, a composite or
strato-type volcano, was destroyed during the Ice Age in much the same
manner as Mt. Mazama, which collapsed to form 2,000 foot deep Crater
Lake. Brokeoff Mt., Mt. Diller, and Pilot Pinnacle to the south and west
are remnants of Mt. Tehama.
In the roadcut to the east of rounded markings are “inclusions” of an
early stage of hardening of the crust of this dacite lava which was
later shattered, and engulfed, and partly remelted when the molten rock
from below forced its way upward.
(0.3 mile)
[Illustration: “Vulcan’s Face” appeared in a 1914 eruption cloud
over Lassen Peak.
—photo by a U. S. Forest Service Ranger]
[Illustration: The Devastated Area, No. 44 in the Road Guide, is
slowly recovering after eruptions in 1915 flattened trees on the
northeast slope of Lassen Peak.
—NPS photo by R. C. Milne]
[Illustration: Bumpass Hell, the most spectacular thermal area in
the Park, is 1,400 feet long and 500 feet wide.
—NPS photo by R. L. Nelson]
[Illustration: A self-guiding trail, starting at No. 17 in the Road
Guide, leads to steaming fumeroles, hot springs and boiling mudpots.
—NPS photo by R. L. Nelson]
[Illustration: Landscape]
BROKEOFF MT.
MT. TEHAMA
MT. DILLER
PILOT PINNACLE
SKI HEIL PEAK
EAGLE PEAK
LAKE HELEN
22 LASSEN PEAK TRAIL SIGN. On the southeast side of the road is the Peak
Parking Area, and on the northwest side starts the trail up Lassen Peak.
The Peak Trail is a well-graded climb of about 2,000 feet: from 8,500
feet to 10,457 feet in 2½ miles of hiking. It takes most persons about 4
hours for the round trip, though some take an hour more, and a few an
hour less. For a pleasant hike:
1. Wear low heeled, sturdy shoes.
2. Hike at a moderate pace, taking short, frequent rests and enjoy the
ever-changing view.
3. Take a lunch along.
4. You can eat snow for water, but do so slowly, otherwise it may make
you ill.
5. Dark glasses, sunburn lotion, and a hat are advisable.
6. Do not start later than 2 hours before sunset, or when storms or
fog threaten.
7. DO NOT TAKE SHORT-CUTS ACROSS THE TRAIL. It is against Park
Regulations and is inadvisable because:
a. It is dangerous: sprained or broken ankles and arms may result.
b. Unavoidable dislodging of rocks is dangerous to hikers below.
c. It costs money to rebuild the trail which short-cutting ruins.
On the rise to the left of the trail, the parallel markings in the rock
is known as flow banding and takes place when the lava is still moving
but cooling rapidly. Directly above this banding, on top of the rock
formation, is glacial polish, which indicates that the lava cooled long
before the Ice Age.
In climbing the Peak, the trail leaves the Hudsonian Life Zone with
mountain hemlocks and white-bark pine, and at timber line it enters the
Arctic-Alpine Life Zone.
From near the register box atop Lassen Peak, Mt. Shasta is to the
northwest, 75 miles away, looming up 14,161 feet. To the north, are
Chaos Crags, the Devastated Area, Prospect Peak, Cinder Cone, and Butte
Lake. Mt. Harkness, Warner Valley, and the mountains of Nevada are to
the east, with Dyer Peak and Lake Almanor in the distance and Kings
Creek Meadow nearby. To the southeast are the High Sierra including
Pyramid Peak in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe.
To the west is the rough black dacite lava of 1915 which filled and
obliterated Lassen’s 1914 Crater. This lava also spilled through the
northeast notch, causing the Great Mudflow of May 19, 1915. Just beyond
the 1915 lava is the 1915-1916 crater formed by the great explosive
eruption of May 22, 1915. It now contains a tiny lake, sapphire blue
when not frozen over. The notch on Lassen’s western skyline, just
beyond, is the 1917 crater. There are active steam vents in the west and
north portions of this basin, but the steam does not always condense
well enough to be seen easily. There are yellow deposits of sulphur on
the north wall of 1915-1916 crater.
On the west side of the crater basin, the 1915-1916 and the 1917 craters
can be seen, and also the Brokeoff-Lassen Ridge to the south, glaciated
Blue Lake Canyon to the southwest, Loomis Peak and the Sacramento Valley
to the west, with the Coast Range Mountains beyond. The highest Coast
Ranges to the northwest are the Trinity Alps. Nearby is Manzanita Lake
area with Chaos Jumbles and Chaos Crags to the right (north).
Lassen Peak was named after Peter Lassen, a pioneer of Danish birth who
is reported to have used the mountain as a landmark. Lassen blazed a
round-about emigrant trail from Black Rock (Nevada), east and south of
the present park area, to his Deer Creek Rancho “Bosquejo” in the
Sacramento Valley.
(0.2 mile)