Ridge Lakes

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Locate the trailhead.

I headed up to Lassen to see what I could see. I have not been for quite some time. Being a wintry time, the mountain was covered with snow.

The southernmost mountain of the Cascades, Mt. Lassen, viewed from the road on the way up to the park but still quite a ways off.

A dribble of water along the roadside in the park has turned into a frozen waterfall with some water still flowing.

They weren't going to let me go up the mountain looking like that. In fact, they didn't want me to go much of anywhere. The road was closed a mile up from the entrance station at the Sulphur Works.

Bubbling mud by the side of the road and a steaming hole behind it (not in picture) are the most obvious feature among the Sulphur Works.

On the other side of the road, funny mounds of yellow dirt spew forth steam from various holes.

The road closure left me with a rather limited choice of hiking areas which didn't include my planned loop out from Summit Lake. It was short and should leave me enough time to go around to the other side of the park. The trail starts off going past some more smoking ground.

Up a minor creek there is more thermal activity.

The trail itself was variously muddy and icy and snowy. Some of the snow had iced over to a very smooth and slippery surface, but the mud was the slickest and most difficult surface. I quickly became quite happy to find the spots where it was frozen even if that meant the hiking was quite cold too.

Ice crystals growing from the muddy ground.

Snow came up quickly as I walked. Further up, there was more snow to be seen. Still, there was a bit of water flowing here and there.

A small stream of water cuts a crack in the snow while it still flows.

A generally southerly facing hillside along the way, although some little bit of northerly slope can be seen behind the trees.

Almost there! One last stroll over snow and the trail comes out to a level and a lake.

Ridge Lakes are two lakes with a wide but shallow waterway connecting the two which aren't quite at the same level. It is difficult to see that they are two from most angles. The lakes are almost completely frozen over.

At first the lake appeared to be all ice. It's grown up in segments leaving very different looking sections of ice here and there. I walked around the edge of the lake.

Some of the lake ice is full of bubbles so very opaque. Ripples have frozen around the rocks.

Patterns in the bubbles in the lake ice.

One last bit of water remains open. Also visible are the edges of a few freezes and the nearby ridge.

Snow upon a litter of lumber that was once, many years ago, a tree. Most of what is visible were the branches.

Trails of ice mark where small streams feed the lakes.

Under the ice covering the little streams feeding the lake, a little water still flowing can be found still feeding them.

The iced over stream.

After walking around the edge of one side of the lake, I climbed up onto the ridge behind it.

Snow covered trees on a far ridge turn to rock grey with the snow upon them. At least near the top of the peak and ridge line.

Animal paths are marked out by the snow on the mountain side.

Up on the ridge, taking a look along it to the north(ish) direction.

The lakes and the view.

Taking another look to the north.

Once over the edge of the ridge, there's a whole new view on the other side. The roundness of this valley is quite interesting. Below, some smoke from the 'prescribed burn', which was cut fallen wood stacked up into piles away from the trees and set alight along the road, can be seen.

It's lonely up here.

Okay, someone else has been here. I found many of these prints that look a lot like rabbit around one spot.

Up on the ridge, the wind was blowing very very chilly even though it wasn't all that strong. My knit cap didn't prove to be enough and the ear on the wind side was starting to hurt a bit. So I got out my large cotton scarf which cut the wind fairly well even though it isn't very thick at all. Then I climbed back down to the lake by a slightly different route.

Trees and rocks along the route downward.

Once down to the lake level again, I walked right along the edge of the lake. I took a lot more photographs of the different ice structures along the way.

Another look at a small stream of water coming into the lake.

A log frozen into the lake and further on, some strange bubbles.

Pine cones and lichen and things frozen into the edge of the lake.

More logs frozen into the lake.

Twigs frozen into the ice by the shore.

The rocky bit of land between the lakes has some water flow so some of it isn't totally ice over.

And some more detail of the break between the lakes.

That bit of clear water again. Closer, there are interesting ripples in the ice.

A bit of ice that may have been broken through and then regrown from the existing ice rather than altogether. It looks like water has flowed onto the older ice and frozen as well.

The water under the ice ebbs and flows.

The trees across the lake reflected in the water and the ice. Also shows the interesting edge to the ice where the water is still open.

All kinds of different freezing patterns can be seen in the lake.

A closeup of the more ordered ice growing out in crystalline patterns.

And when finished recording the lake in great detail, I hiked back.

A bit of snowy forest on the way back and a larger stream flowing along to wherever it may go.

Back to the road, almost. The Sulphur Works are still steaming away.

Afterwards, I went down to the Visitor Center to ask the best way around to see the other side of the park. They didn't direct me along the route marked as a 'recommended route' on my Lassen Nation Forest map with a $1 price tag still on it (also marked as 'unspecified surface') but along a longer route further down the mountain.

*photo album*




©2009 Valerie Norton
Posted 15 November 2009