Lassen Peak Trail

Base of the hike to Lassen Peak. It starts at 8500 feet, and the air is already a bit chill. You can't walk across the parking lot without having to stop to get your breath back.

Steph trudging up the trail. It's one of the toughest 2.5 mile hikes I've seen - you have to budget about 4 hours at least for the full 5 mile round-trip.

View into the cirque from part way up the peak.

Better view of Lake Helen.

Nice view of the horizon, and the mountains between.

Another shot of Lake Helen.

Ditto.

Lake Helen with better foreground.

Butterfly (moth?) we found struggling at around 10000 feet.

The summit itself.

Eddie, the high-altitude backpack raider.

View from the top.

Another entry in the study of Lake Helen.

"Now, is this the button I press to make myself look butt-ugly?"

"Fuck off, I'm beat and I'm eating!"

Lake Helen, dirty ugly foreground

Time to head down

Furry toll-collector... "I want nuts, dammit, or you can't pass"

"Just gimme the food and nobody gets hurt..."

Natural window in the rock.

View back up to the summit.

Last modified: Fri Sep 15 15:25:14 Pacific Daylight Time 2000