Black Lassic

Six Rivers National Forest

(map link)

I headed up to the Lassics via the Senteney Rock Road (1S07), which is wide and smooth gravel all the way up to the county line where a small section marked as Jeep trail on USGS maps has a rather more dangerous feel when in a little car. I was looking for an old and rough road up to a "campground", or so the peakbaggers keep calling it. I didn't find it, but it is obvious when traveling north. There's no parking next to it and no driving it in a little car, so it didn't matter. I found a small turnout near the saddle between Black and Mount and decided upon a direct approach rather than looking for that road.

Black Lassic from the turnout near the saddle.

Black Lassic is the tallest of the Lassics and it sits in the footprint of the 2015 Lassics Fire. Besides the too many burned trees, I was struck by how absolutely dry it is up here. There's even a little patch marked "desert" just to the north of the peak, although I rather doubt one little spot gets sufficiently small amounts of rain to qualify. Pretty much my only impediment to walking wherever I wanted was knee high ceanothus, fallen trees, and a few steep slopes. I hiked over a small peak toward Black Lassic keeping a bit south of the ridge.

Mountain blue penstemon along the way.

Particularly orange western wallflowers popped up in random clumps throughout the area.

Red Lassic to the south still has big snow patches on the north side. This is the latest snow recorded on the Lassics.

Upon reaching the saddle between the peaks, I found the use trail coming up from the "campground". It follows a very faint old road track that ends at the saddle. A distinct narrow footpath continues along the edge of rocks, then up through them. I followed this upward. There are also some lesser used paths.

The regularly used trail up the peak.

I came to see the lupine, but this silver bush lupine is not the special one.

California chicory

On up to the peak.

At the top of the rocky section, trail just follows the ridge spine upward over an easy to walk gravel. Halfway up, I looked back to see a car parked behind me. Goodness, the place is crowded.

Scattered scytheleaf onions grow in the gravel.

The bare area below is the marked desert. Far beyond is the foggy coastline.

Already at the top. It's only half a mile.

Snowy Trinity Alps in the distance from Black Lassic.

Arrowleaf buckwheat

I took a little time to take in the extensive view.

The rest of the Lassics: Red Lassic on the left and the three peaks of Mount Lassic on the right.

North of the Lassics, there's the foggy coastline, that little patch of desert, and the hills below Iaqua Buttes and Bug Creek Butte.

Stretching across the east is the whole 40 miles of South Fork Mountain with its 4 fire lookouts. Mad River Rock is center in the Mad River Ridge in front of South Fork. (This one will definitely need some zooming.)

Then I headed back down, stopping for the geocache and checking out the flowers I missed on the way up.

Yellow faced bumblebee on a silverleaf phacelia.

Budding and blooming ocean spray.

I bumped into the folks from the other car as they came up. They were here for brine shrimp. There's some ponds over thataway. And there's me there for boring ol' lupine flowers.

Roseflower stonecrop? Or cream or pale yellow.

And again it is too late for fawn lilies, but a few petals remain.

At the saddle, I turned to follow the trail down. It was slightly rough wandering around the ceanothus and I might as well find where the trail goes. On the way, I was distracted by a patch of green where the map shows a spring. I went to see what might be there.

A patch of corn lilies with one just about to bloom.

American yellowrocket

American brooklime

Seep monkeyflowers

The water does seep back into the ground fairly quickly after the spring area, but for that area, there's quite a large puddle and marshy area full of water loving plants. I got back to wandering down to the "campground" where someone has happened to build a campfire ring. That and space to pitch a tent is all you get there. I proceeded down the road, which will need cleared before anyone drives up.

A very thick clump of irises were nearly all in the height of bloom.

A flat area among very dead trees at the end of the short Jeep trail makes a "campground".

Beegum onion

I headed back up the road toward the car, noting another flow of water on the way. Perhaps it is not quite so dry as I thought from looking about on the drive up.

Mount Lassic through the trees on the other side of the road. Yes, there are trees.

*even more photos in the album*




©2023 Valerie Norton
Written 17 Jul 2023