Background: I had seen a picture of a friend standing in front of a waterfall, and I thought: I must go there! After discovering that the waterfall, McArthur-Burney Falls, eponymous with the state park, was a relatively close drive from Lassen Volcanic National Park, I seized the chance and was so glad I spent the afternoon here.

There are several ways to get to the waterfall since the trail is a loop. Most people head to the lookout, descend the path to the waterfall and climb back up the same route. I took the longer way around and wanted to visit the waterfall up close last and to enjoy my lunch there.

I took a sneak peak at the lookout point and was floored. Look at all that water! (As I'm still catching up from last year's adventures, a reminder that this was in August 2015 where the California drought was very intense.)



Where does all that water come from? There are several helpful informational signs at the visitor center, around the parking lot and along the trail that tell the history of the place and the geological features. The source comes largely from the snowmelt of nearby Burney Mountain. Since this region was volcanically formed, there are several rock layers that contribute to the waterfalls (that are a part of Burney Creek). Snowmelt and rainfall seep through the ground, which then flows through porous basalt that retains most of the water. The water flows through underground channels until it hits some non-porous (solid) rock, where most of the water is then forced upward where the creek springs to life about 3/4 mile upstream from the waterfall.

After the lookout, I continued and came across the first bridge that crossed Burney Creek, also known as Fishermen's Bridge, where I caught a first glimpse of the source of Burney Falls.




The trail continues for a short bit before reaching a junction. Take the trail to the left to go on the Pacific Crest Trail and take the trail on the right to head to the waterfall. Continue along dirt paths like the one below until the trail starts making switchbacks down the hillside back to stream level. The trail passes Burney Falls; don't worry, the trail will lead back to the waterfall.


At the junction for bridge #2, also known as Rainbow Bridge, the trail continues straight to PSEA Camp, which according to the map (near the trailhead), is a private spot. Instead, cross the bridge and catch beautiful sights like this one. That little kid is so mesmerized by the rush of flowing water. At this bridge, I also dipped my hands into the cold water and felt somewhat purified knowing that this water was mostly unspoiled freshwater.




After crossing the bridge, there are some strange rock piles which there was no sign saying what it was for. The trail to the left leads to Lake Britton, while taking the trail to the right, now paved, heads upstream back to Burney Falls.



At this point, there were a lot more people enjoying the falls than I expected. People were sunbathing, reading books, meditating, enjoying the splendor, and even swimming up close to the falls. There is no direct path to the pool - hop and jump over the rocks to get to your desired spot. I set my backpack down and ate my lunch in bliss. The warmth of the sun, the mist from the falls, the slight, cool breeze, the roar of the waterfalls, and the blues of the water all coordinated to form this beautiful indelible memory.






The switchback hike back up to the parking lot left me feeling bittersweet and every 5 seconds,  I would glance back at the waterfall, wondering when I would be back again. I was also feeling sadness, knowing that my trip to upper Northern California was coming to an end, as this was the last place to visit before heading home. I went to the lookout again and was still in complete awe. At the parking lot, it felt incredibly warm and hot and I already missed the coolness of sitting by the waterfalls. I think places that are most treasured are best enjoyed by sitting and enjoying the moment, with no other plans in mind.

I also several of these critters :)



Would I go here again? Was it worth the 5 hour drive back to the Bay Area? Definitely a resounding yes. There are some places where visiting once is enough, and then there's McArthur-Burney Falls which is worth a second (or multiple) trip back.

Bonus photos: the view of the area from a roadside vista point somewhere along Highway 299, just south of the town of Burney along the grade.




McArthur-Burney Falls: Waterfall Loop Trail

Happy travels!
Cat

After the hike at Chaos Crags, I wanted to catch the sunset at Manzanita Lake. And boy, what a treat. This is the view I had while eating my dinner.

There's an ethereal beauty attached to long summer days, and it's a nice sigh of relief to watch the sun go down. And even after the sun set, the beauty continued through the evening. The birds were flying out there to catch their food, while amphibians were croaking. The trees were gently swaying as the wind brushed through. The calm and rhythmic undulating waves lapped at the shore as they all gently bid goodbye to the setting sun and welcomed the coolness of the night.

The walk around the perimeter of the lake is a mostly flat stroll (unpaved) and works well for people of all ages. On my walk, I saw many older couples taking their post-dinner evening stroll while others brought out their camera to capture some of the fantastic views.



Below is a photo from the opposite end of where I started. Lassen Peak is the tallest peak on the right and Chaos Crags is the series of peaks on the left. Though I was hoping for some alpenglow delight, this gentle and delicate purple hue stole the show, as I watched the sky change colors, as if watching a dab of paint move across a watercolor painting.


















I can't say that daytime views are just as rewarding, but maybe in different weather, I'll see something different. The amazing thing that simply astounded me was that this happens every. single. day, and the colors are never exactly the same.



Manzanita Lake

Happy travels!
Cat

The trailhead is at an interesting location, with a slight turnout on the left hand side when heading to the Manzanita Campground. It looks like a random pull-out section and when I finished my hike, some cars passed by wondering what I was doing at such an odd location. (There is a sign confirming that it is the trailhead.)

The trail is relatively flat in the beginning. After a few minutes, the sounds of a babbling brook breaks the silence, as the water rushes downstream to Manzanita Lake. And I also noticed this guy heading to the brook. It probably saw me first and was wondering what I was doing in its territory.



Lassen can be hot during the day and Chaos Crags provides a nice relief to the heat as it's mostly shaded. Surprisingly, there are a lot of dead trees and chopped trees around, adding to the slight eeriness. Even though I started the hike in the afternoon, the shadows loomed large and added to the spookiness of the trail. There are also a couple of plank crossings, which I'm sure are more useful earlier in the year after the snowmelt. There's also no one on this trail despite the higher crowd levels at nearby Manzanita Lake.




The rocks are noticeably pink (not enhanced by my camera or Photoshop) and are known as dacite. So cool, eh?

As I made my way back to the first set of 'random' rocks, I came across this stunning view as the sun was now making its way toward the horizon.

Chaos Crags and Crags Lake
Happy travels!
Cat

This area is aptly named Devastated Area because of all of the remnants of the volcanic rock and ash that the volcano ejected on May 22, 1915. In June of 1914, Lassen began to rumble and tremble and continued to have 150 small eruptions, forming the crater until the volcano erupted on May 19, heaving lava, ash, mud, and melted snow down the mountain, creating a wide empty swath as the avalanche roared down the mountain. (Lassen first formed about 27,000 years ago as it pushed through Mount Tehama, which was 1000 feet taller and now gone.)

From this nice and gentle interpretive walk, visitors have the chance to see the low growth areas on the sides of Lassen Peak (where the magma flowed down) and get up close to very large rock specimens.


This red dalcite formed 27,000 years ago when Lassen Peak first erupted and was carried down the slopes during the 1915 eruption. (paraphrased from the interpretive sign)


Guess which of these rocks is new (some are around 100 years old, not the typical thousands, millions, or billions years old). Left to right: Gray dacite: formed when Lassen erupted 27,000 years ago; red dacite: from the same era as the gray dacite; Black dacite: formed from lava build-up several days before the eruption and shattered during the eruption; Light dacite pumice: solidified magma fragmented by expanding gas bubbles; banded pumice: formed by the simultaneous mixing of two different magmas: light dacite and dark andesite; reddish rock on the right: not part of the sign haha



This rock was still hot several days after it was ejected from Lassen. B. F. Loomis, who took a photo of this same rock labeling it "hot rock," took many photographs documenting the eruption, and also helped establish Lassen Volcanic National Park.

The different colorations of in the rock are 'quenched blobs' of what used to be basalt magma. When basalt magma mixed with the cooler dacite magma, the basalt magma was quenched, or cooled suddenly. When lava spewed out of the volcano, the basalt magma solidified and reamined in the dacite rock. 



These rocks were carried down the avalanche and the cooler surrounding air temperature rapidly cooled the rocks from outside in. These rocks fractured inwardly though not all rocks fractured because not all rocks were hot and were formed and cooled 27,000 years ago.

Devastated Area Interpretive Trail

*I've come across many blogs and very few admit the troubles and faults that come with running a blog. For me, I haven't fully decided on a theme and layout other than sharing and documenting the travels I've been on. I also hesitate to include this post about Summit Lake because I didn't really explore the lake. I merely arrived, ate lunch, enjoyed the view for about an hour, then left (no lakeside walk). 

Summit Lake is a perfect mid-point between the Manzanita Lake Entrance Station and the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center. I love lakes and had to stop here for lunch. I also wanted to check out the campgrounds here (one at the south end and one at the north end) in case Manzanita Lake was full (I made no advance reservations). Some have stated that Summit Lake is very popular during the summer so I guess it depends on your preference!

The whole area is very peaceful and relaxing. I loved sitting at a bench enjoying my lunch and found so much tranquility watching the water lap at the shores while the wind brushed through the trees as they swayed back and forth. The warmth of the sun felt great as I basked near the waters after enjoying my lunch.




Summit Lake