Burney Falls and Lava Beds

The ranger at Lassen didn't sell me well on Cold Boiling Lake, (A cold water lake, that bubbles CO2) but said I should visit Glass Mountain on my way to Lava Beds. I take her word for it, and head off up the road.

Burney Falls are spectacular. Some of the nicest falls I've seen in quite a while. A bit steep at $6 for dayuse, but allegedly it's because of the california "budget crisis". Previously I'd had $16/night campgrounds at lassen too, so they might be telling the truth.

I turn onto forest service roads, and wind my way north through the forest, passing logging trucks, and signs to all sorts of weird and wonderful places that aren't on my map, and eventually reach Glass Mountain. Very worthwhile. The Ranger didn't lie. It's a whole ridge of Pumice and Obsidian. Pumice boulders, that you can rock with one hand. And huge outcrops of obsidian. Very neat, and very off the beaten path.

From there I head into Lava Beds, where the first ranger doesn't help at all, but a second ranger suggests I check out Mushpot, and then Skull Cave. Mushpot is neat, concrete pathway, red cinema lights, and some pushbutton lights to light up lava features. The lava dripstone on the walls is neat.

From there to Skull Cave, where I take my headlight and feel a bit unsafe with only one light. I needn't have worried. There is beautiful track work all the way, and then steel ladders, and it's only short anyway. The Icefloor has a big steel grid in front of it, so you can't see it very well, and my light was a little weak, but it was still neat to see ice in a cave, only 5 minutes from the entrance and the heat outside.

Captain Jack's Stronghold was next, scene of the Modoc War. Very nice interprative literature.

Then out to Petroglyph Point. Which is very dissapointing after seeing good petroglyphs in Utah. Very interesting rock formation though, and covered in swallow's nests. But the petroglyphs are lame.

Into Oregon, Klamath Falls, the first petrol under $2 I'd seen in a while, and a camp at Kimball State rec area at the head end of Upper Klamath Lake

Burney Falls	Burney Falls	More Burney Falls	Fishing for trout in the pool
Me and Burney Falls	Pumice boulder and stone	Glass Mountain	The obsidian at Glass Mountain