On Saturday, we awoke at 5AM and got into the park by 6:15AM; it was quiescent and visitor-free.
Sulfur Works is the first sign of hydrothermal activity one sees upon entering the park - steam and strange-colored ground:
Our real goal was to get down to Bumpass Hell before other park visitors. Here is Andrew watching the sun rise and begin to light up the surrounding mountains:
Leigh, trying to warm up. . .
Besides being the sole car parked in the lot, it was clear that we were the first people down the trail as we ran into a few rare birds; this is one of three Blue Grouse we saw:
Bumpass Hell is named after Kendall Vanhook Bumpass, a cowboy who worked in the Lassen area in the 1860s. One day Bumpass stumbled upon the area and his leg was badly scalded when it broke though a thin crust above a mud pot. He told his friends and townspeople about it, describing it as "Hell." A newspaper editor was interested in the story and convinced Bumpass to take him to this place. Unfortunately, Bumpass' leg broke through the crust again - this time it had to be amputated. Because of this cautionary tale, we were frequently told to stay on the trail and boardwalk once we arrived in the hydrothermal area. The scenery is gorgeous, but what you cannot tell from these photos is the overwhelming smell of sulfur.
We hiked into and out of Bumpass by 11AM, giving us ample time to go to an area outside the National Park to fish. We chose a gorgeous location, but there were very few catches. . . We set up our gear next to the largest, squishiest fungi we'd ever seen:
On Sunday, we went on another fishing expedition, but this time we fished along a stream within the National Park. We observed more unusual fungi:
Some views of the stream:
... and the sweet little trout Andrew caught:
As Andrew fished, I watched the birds, butterflies, bees, and deer:
Andrew caught enough trout (11) for dinner. After the fish were gutted (note the roe below), we hiked out and placed the fish on ice for cooking at home later on that night.
Delicious!!
