Monday, October 30, 2017

Lassen, part 5 - Warner Valley

Our last day exploring Lassen!  We headed over to Warner Valley in the southeast corner.  It required a bit of a drive, but we couldn't pass up another chance to see geothermal features, and a bonus jaunt along the Pacific Crest Trail.

There's a lot of good stuff listed on this sign - Boiling Springs Lake, Devil's Kitchen, Terminal Geyser.  Let's get started.


Hot Springs Creek that runs next to the parking lot:


Hello PCT!


Boardwalk shadow selfie:


Note the distance of the PCT on this sign:


The color of Boiling Springs Lake just ain't normal:


We had to wonder about the animal tracks in the mud.  Maybe they were just keeping warm, because you surely can't drink this.


Lots of little holes with bubbling, hissing water venting to the surface - and somehow, trees grow in the middle of it:


Continuing on to Terminal Geyser - not exactly a geyser with water spewing forth, but it sure looks like it could.  Any minute now.


Loud steaming rocks, I bet this would be neat to see in the winter:


Yep, it's warm:


Enjoying our little walk along the PCT:


Stepping off the trail for a train of horses - one of the guides asked us to watch for a radio he'd dropped somewhere on the trail behind them:


Double rootstock canyon!  We don't see this very often, that's for sure:


Hey look, there's the radio!  We accomplished something useful today, returning it to the nearby ranch:


The lone horse waiting at the ranch for his friends to come back from the ride, hello pretty horse:


An interesting paddlewheel in a little creek, quite creative:


And another one:


And the best part of the day - Devil's Kitchen.  Another extensive display of volcanic-ness:


Milky-white water, that's kind of disgusting looking:


Hot water dribbling down from vents in the side of the hill:


Sulphur smell and green rocks:


A large otherworldly pool:


It's a super fun trail through here, with new things to see around every corner:


Awesome!  Obviously we enjoyed Lassen immensely, glad we had to time to explore so many parts of it.  Time to go downhill, into the heat, back to civilization and "real life".  Thanks for coming along with us on our summer journey!

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