I'm so excited to be back in nature after my two-year hiatus due to the pandemic!
In true Vaughn all-or-nothing fashion, we chose to hike the Cinder Cone as our first venture back out into the great wide wilderness. This isn't the easiest hike because of the steep incline and sandy/rocky path, but the 360-degree views at the top offer a fabulous payoff.
We arrived at the trailhead just as the sun was coming up and didn't see anyone else until we came back down the volcano.
How wonderful to have the entire place to ourselves!
This hike took us about four hours, but that's only because we were enjoying the view so much that we walked around the entire Cinder Cone a second time and weren't in a hurry to get back home.
It was so incredibly quiet at the top--the perfect atmosphere to take in the sights of the beautiful Painted Dunes, almost otherworldly Fantastic Lava Beds, and Lassen Peak standing tall in the distance.
Here's to many more enjoyable hikes in Lassen VNP this year!
The Cosumnes River Walk is a 3-mile dirt trail that starts and ends at the visitor center. During our visit in early-March, we saw many different birds (which you can see at Wings and Daydreams), colorful wildflowers (photos at Wildflower Wednesday), and enjoyed the diverse trail that took us through buttonbush thickets, native grasslands, valley oak riparian forest, cottonwood-willow riparian forest, tule marsh, and valley oak savannah.
To learn more about the Cosumnes River Preserve, visit their website here.
The Battle Creek Wildlife Area offers a diverse 4-mile round trip trail that winds through riparian forests, marshes, and oak woodland.
We saw lots of birds, butterflies and wildflowers during our walk. Bald Eagles and Osprey nest there in the spring and, sure enough, we we lucky enough to see two Bald Eagles and their nest.
More about the birds we saw in the area can be found at my birding website Wings and Daydreams. And you can find my wildflower photography over at Wildflower Wednesday.
It's always fun to take a look back and remember all the wonderful adventures of the year!
We did a lot of hiking during the summer, along with a dozen visits to our local wildlife refuges here in Northern California. All of our trips in 2019 were special in their own way and I cherish the tons of photos and video we took, so it was tough to narrow it down to just ten!
Here they are...
10. Hat Creek Rim Overlook. Not only was this a beautiful drive, but when we arrived, there were colorful wildflowers growing everywhere and incredible views of Shasta and Lassen. What a lovely stop along the Pacific Crest Trail!
9. Paradise Meadow. Even though we hiked this trail a little too early for the wildflower bloom, the payoff was pretty and I enjoyed how the path followed along the creek.
8. Sheepy Ridge Wildlife Trail. This was our second time trekking up Sheepy Ridge and the views at the top were just as wonderful as I remembered.
7. Ridge Lakes. We also did a return hike to Ridge Lakes, and were able to compare how the different seasons transform the scenery. I swear, this lake has some of the most incredible reflections in all of the park!
5. Speaking of sightings, our Beaver sighting at the Codora Unit of the Sacramento River NWR was something I'll never forget!
4. Manzanita Creek Trail. This trail had a lot of wildflowers and the views at the end made the steep 7 mile round-trip hike totally worth it.
3. McCloud Falls. Oh boy, this was an awesome trail! We took the 5 mile round-trip hike and saw all three of the waterfalls, Upper, Middle and Lower McCloud Falls.
2. Brokeoff Mountain. This bad boy was a total beast and I still can't believe we made it all the way up to the top! There's definitely some truth to the whole "the higher you climb, the greater the views" thing.
Before we get to the Number One adventure of 2019, here are a few Honorable Mentions:
All right, that brings us to my favorite adventure of the year! Drumroll please...
1. Mt. Harkness Fire Lookout Trail Loop. I loved the payoff of this hike, even more than Brokeoff! The views at the fire lookout were absolutely spectacular and I'm so glad we stuck with it and made it all the way to the top. Standing up there at over 8,000 feet made me feel more on top of the world than I've ever felt in my life.
Well, after this little trip down memory lane, I've got to say that we definitely made the most of 2019. I literally took thousands of photos and I'm so proud of the videos I made for my YouTube channel. Most of our hiking goals were accomplished and I'm thrilled to have made these memories with the love of my life. He definitely pushed me to climb higher, hike further and be the kind of strong, fearless woman I've always dreamed of being.
If you're in Lassen Volcanic National Park and you're looking for an easy, flat trail with incredible views of Chaos Crags and Lassen Peak, then the loop around Reflection Lake is the way to go!
It's easy to see how this pretty lake earned its name. When there's no breeze to disturb the water, reflections of the trees and mountain are crisp and clear...
