October 9, 2019 • 35 mins
Boiling rivers, bubbling mud pots, steaming hot springs, and giant volcanoes. It kinda sounds like that fiery hellscape from Lord of the Rings, but really it’s Lassen Volcanic National Park, the least visited of all 9 of California’s national parks, and a place that’s not nearly as terrifying as its geologic features could have you believe. This week, we recount Matt's ascent of Lassen Peak, Brad's impromptu dip in the lake, and our fav lodging accommodations yet.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Boiling rivers, bubbling mud pots, steaming hot springs, and giant volcanoes.
It kind of sounds like more door that fiery hellscape
from Lord of the Rings, but really it's Last and
Volcanic National Park, and instead of Mount Doom, it's Lassen Peak.
So Last and Volcanic is the least visited of all
nine of California's national parks, and it's a place that's
(00:21):
not nearly as terrifying as its geologic features. What have
you believe? Yes, as long as you're not diving headfirst
into these mud pots and hot springs, you'll be just fine.
And Lassen Volcanic is really one of the most underrated
gems in the entire National Park Service. It really is.
So for any fans out there of burning hot thermal
features and soaring mountains and Lord of the Rings metaphors,
(00:43):
this is the park for you. Hi, I'm Matt and
I'm Brad. This is the park Land of podcast from
My Heart Radio. We packed up our stuff in Chicago
and moved into an r V where we're traveling the
country full time with our dog Fin exploring America's national parks. Today,
we're talking about Last and Volcanic National Park in California.
(01:11):
Our trip to Last Volcanic was pre r V. It
was part of a family vacation with Matt's dad, sister, brother,
and soon to be sister in law. Yeah, so a
couple of years ago, my dad started this semi annual tradition,
I guess, of taking these family vacations to and around
national parks, primarily which I love. And we started with
(01:32):
a trip to Jackson Hold, Wyoming, where we went to
Grand Teton National Park and Yellows Yellowstone National Park. And
this was in two thousand seventeen, kind of the trip
that triggered my obsession with the use like just immersive
national park vacations. And then this trip to Last Volcanic
was part of a larger northern California vacation with Brad
(01:54):
and my brother's now fiance, Whitney. Yeah, this was our
first time. It's just fun seeking out parts of the
country where we can do these extended road trips together
and combined at least a couple of national parks, and
in this case, Last of Volcanic was coupled with Redwoods
a few hours away. Yeah, so we flew into San
Francisco spent a night in San Francisco, which was great.
(02:15):
We got to like restaurant Hop Bar Hop a little bit,
and then drove up the coast, beautiful scenic drive to
Redwood and then a few hours into like north central
California where a last and volcanic is located. And altogether
it's very doable if you have the time. I think
we did this in about a week, and we had
plenty of time in each location, including Lasson, and especially
(02:36):
when you're driving in a normal car and you're not
chewing a trail I filled with syrah, it's very doable.
That makes a very big difference. It does. It does
so before we pay Class and Volcanic, none of us
really knew much about it, which was part of the appeal.
I think it was underrated. Um, we didn't know any
information about like hiking trails or history. We just knew that, hey,
(02:59):
it's a national can California that doesn't get the love
that like Yosemite and Death Valley and Joshua Tree does.
So let's go for it. Let's explore, and late summer
was the perfect time to do so that's when we
took this trip. It was like late September time frame,
and we just really kind of dove into it and
spent I think a good three full days here exploring
(03:22):
this under the radar national park. Yeah. I mean we
both in two parks like Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains
in the summer months, so we know how crowded these
parks can get. Yeah, and the passive aggressive road rage
is real. Yeah. I remember driving between a slower car
and Yellowstone and the driver had his arms sticking out
the window the whole time, and you were getting so
annoyed at Yeah, for no real reason. He wasn't It's
(03:44):
not like he was going fifty under the speed limit
or anything. I was just like driving the car and
he was going like two miles slower than I would like,
and I was just like getting so annoyed with it
with him and especially his arm, Like, put your arm
in your window, sir. But your road rage is never
really national, is it not. I'm not known for my
rational road rage, that's for sure. Yeah. But anyway, last
(04:05):
and Volcanic really didn't have much traffic at all. That
was so great that that makes a huge difference, honestly,
because being stock and taking such a long time to
get from like one trail to the other is really
kind of maddening. And the reason for that, the reason
why last a Volcanic is so accessible is this park
gets less than five thousand annual visitors per year, which
(04:25):
is very reasonable for a family vacation and shockingly low
compared to most southern California parks especially. Yeah, I think
it has a lot to do with the fact that
Lasson is a bit more off the beaten path right
kind of the middle of northern California. It takes quite
a while to drive there from San Francisco and even
the red Wet area really, I mean, um, that's you
(04:47):
know right, yeah, And it's it's probably closer to like Reno,
Nevada than San Francisco, because that's where we wind up
playing out of instead of circling around and Reno small,
and so it's in a very like kind of un
populated by comparison part of California. I think that makes
a big factor. Also, maybe another factor, maybe people are
just scared of it. I mean that that would be
(05:09):
understandable with a name that has volcanic in the title,
I'd say that's that's a reasonable assessment. Yeah, Yeah, sure,
but like we said, there's nothing here to be really
afraid of. No, no, no, no, just keep in mind
that Lasting Peak, which is the park's namesake volcano and
the largest plug dome volcano in the world, is still
very much a lot. Stop scaring our listeners, please, Well,
(05:32):
I'm just being brutally honest, and I feel like that's
helpful to create these expectations geology. Someone's got to remind
everyone that last in Peak last erupted in nineteen fifteen,
which actually was a year before Last Volcanic National Park
was established, and also a year before the National Park
Service in general was established. And I also didn't realize
(05:53):
that that Lasson was established the same year as the
National Park Service. That's so poetic. It's actually pretty reason
for volcanic eruption. Yeah, that's that's that's what I'm saying. Yeah,
aside from Mount Saint Helen's lass and is the only
volcano in the whole Cascade Range to erupt after nine Yeah,
hopefully eruption wasn't as bad as Mount St. Helenslow right. No, No,
it wasn't nearly as bad as that one. It was
(06:15):
mostly just a series of these like smaller eruptions, nothing
too devastating, but still seeing this volcano spew like ash
and neon bright lava was I'm sure a startlingly reminder
of the power of this place. Yeah, nothing like lava
to put things into perspective. That's actually a good life
motto in general, I think, regardless of whether you're near
(06:36):
volcano or not. Right. Yeah, And even though Lasson Peak
gets a lot of attention from its like recent activity
like this um, the region has really been stirring up
trouble a lot longer than that. Yes, very troublesome region.
So the Last Volcanic Center, which kind of sounds like
a y m c A for fiery mountains. This for
this first started taking shape more than eight hundred thousand
(06:57):
years ago as various ash and law of flows form
the foundation for this huge caldera and Last and Peak
and other mountains in the park arose during the apply
dubbed Lasting stage of geologic formation, which spanned from three
thousand years ago to even as recent as just eleven
hundred years ago. This is also one of the only
places on Earth that contains all four types of volcano plug, dome, shield,
(07:22):
cinder cone, and strato volcano, which sounds terrifying. Yeah. And
also during this time, more and more eruptions took place,
which created a field of plug dome volcanoes. I mean
these get their name for the slow moving lava that
cools on the surface of the volcanoes and seals their domes.
That's so fascinating to me. I had never heard of
such a thing before going to this park. Yeah, you
(07:44):
really learn something new above volcanoes every day. Yeah, I guess.
I mean I would love one of those like page
of day calendars that is nothing about volcano ef facts
that enriched my life. So now that we've sufficiently terrified
you about explosions and lava, let's tell you about how
you can hike up lastin Peak Trills. This is definitely
(08:06):
when you're visiting lastin Volcanic you have to. This is
a bucket list item. You just you have to do
this one. The mountain gets its name from a Danish
blacksmith named Peter Lasson who lived in the region in
the eighteen thirties and served as a guide for immigrants
making the journey through to the Sacramento Valley. Yeah. The
fact that this park's namesake mountain and centerpiece makes this
(08:28):
required hiking. I'd say yeah, for sure, because not only
in like the name alone is it iconic, but it's
the most striking feature in the whole park. You can
see it from pretty much any vantage point, and it's
so tempting to want to do it and export it.
So I would say it's very worthwhile, though keeping in
mind it is a strenuous hike. It's about two thousand
(08:49):
feet of elevation gain in five miles round trip, so
bear in mind and definitely come prepared, starting early, layering
appropriately because it does get cold up there, and then
sunscreen and plenty of water. That being said, it's totally
worth it, and the whole experience is thoroughly amazing. Yeah,
this is kind of the first major thing that we
(09:09):
all did here on our full, first full day in
the park. I mean it was definitely a priority for everyone. Yeah,
it was. I remember discussing it the night before and
kind of mapping at our day, and I was a
little intimidated because this was prior to my days of
hardcore hiking on a regular basis. Now I could probably
do this no problem, but this was still an intimidating
(09:32):
mountain for me. The notion of two thousand feet of
elevation gain and five miles round trip. I was a
little worried, but I'm glad we went for it, and
we all just had a blast and we so we
started by waking up pretty early, leaving our airbnb house
that we're staying at outside of the park to get
an early start hiking. And this is a good point
(09:54):
because there's not a ton of shade on the trail,
so we didn't want to be hiking like the middle
of the day when it's the sunniest and hottest. Yeah,
it's still not as hot as Lava though. Yeah, we
didn't have to hike through lava, but compared to Lava,
the temperature here was downright wintry. I would say, it's
especially the further you got. Obviously it's kind of chili.
So I'm glad that I was wearing a light jacket. Yeah.
(10:17):
I remember, like when we were doing the trail, I
only did part of it, like a very small part
of it, and I actually wound up hanging my hammock
up and these grove of trees just to get some
time to relax and have my own time. Um, because
I just felt like mentally, I was getting stirred up
and I was just getting angry at nothing, and so
I just figured it's good to separate myself and just
(10:37):
relax in the hammock and on wine, you know, on
my own for a bit. Yeah. You always seem to
have your hammock at the ready, even when no one
knows about it. You just kind of pull it out
of your pocket. Yeah, definitely, But that was good. It
was this cozy, beautiful, little shaded alcove gray for hammocking.
It looked like and you know, you know your limits,
(10:57):
and we gotta relax. You gotta relax, and certainly the
last thing you need is me hustling you up a
steep mountain. That would not be relaxing at all. Yeah,
we didn't. We just really get each other, don't We
relax in different ways. And you guys had a great
time on that hike anyway, we did. Yeah, it was
really awesome. It took probably a couple of hours to
get to the summit um. Along the way, we stopped
(11:18):
several times to take photos and gullsa water, of course,
and just kind of catch our breaths because there's you're
at stile elevation that breathing can be somewhat strenuous if
you're especially if you're hustling at a rapid clip, and
the switchbacks are pretty brutal and relentless and NonStop too.
It's one of those mountain hikes where you can see
(11:40):
the switchbacks up and you're just like one of these
going to end there at each corner. It's really just
like breaking my spirit. But the views are absolutely worth it,
so that that really helped. And like I said, since
we're hardly any trees blocking our view, the best part
about that is you could see nothing but sweeping panorama
us of all these plug doum volcanoes all around you.
(12:03):
And then even better, my favorite part was all these
twinkling little lakes in deep green forests and the valleys between.
It was so pretty. Yeah that does sound amazing and
quite tranquil really, I mean, but still not a drinkle
as my hammock. Well yeah, I mean, it's it's hard
to out tranquil a hammock. I'll give you that. But
when we when we finally made it to the peak
(12:23):
of Lassin, there was still a little bit snow up
there actually, So like I said, again, be prepared for
what their changes. So apparently there must always be snow
there year round. Um, I guess because this is like
late summer. I mean it was hot and sunny. It
was hot, yeah, and this was late summer. So if
there's ever a time where snow shouldn't be there, I
would imagine it would be now because it's had plenty
(12:45):
of time to melt. But there was a gigantic chunk
of snow, like an icy little slick, and we had
a kind of shuffle across it unexpectedly, trying not to
slip and slide as I inched my way to the
rocky summit. And so once we did that, which wasn't
too wasn't too hard as long as you're just careful
(13:05):
with your footing. The last bit here requires some like
very legit scrambling up a boulder field if you want
to reach the technical top of it. There's this little
kind of marker in one of the stones, and we
obviously wanted to do that. We didn't want to come
up to like point of last and people. We wanted
to like climb our way up these boulders and then
(13:26):
like eat lunch on in the most physically uncomfortable environment
we could find. Of course, why why would you do
something different? I know, right, So I remember just like
grabbing the bag of granola or trail mix from whoever
was carrying it, and like just shoveling into my mouth
like for me, a funnel with a bag, and then
just pouring it down my throat because I was so
(13:47):
so hungry and so thirsty. And this was one of
those things where once you finished last in peak, it
feels so well earned and you can just kind of
sit and relax and breathe, and also you it's the
kind of place want to sit and just drinking the
sites because you can see for miles and miles and
miles literally like uninhibited views. And my dad actually pointed
(14:08):
out in the distance the part distance you can see
this huge mountain. He said it was Mount Shasta in
the distance, and I have no reason to not believe that,
So I guess that was Mount Shasta. And yeah, we
just kind of hung out and caught our breath and
got prepared for the journey down. It was great. Yeah,
there's just something about hiking that makes like sandwiches taste
(14:30):
so much better. Yeah, I know, we definitely had a
bunch of sandwiches up there too, trail mix sandwiches, probably bananas,
you know, and pretty much anything and everything we could
shove into my dad's backpack. Um, and I think my
go to for something like this or any sandwiches I
usually have, like a P B and J and it.
(14:52):
I think this the lastin peak P B and J
was the best P B and J of my life.
I still like I mean, I'm still in the same
sandwich that I've been eating since second grade. But there's
just something about a hike that makes it taste so
much better. But you definitely don't hike like a second grader,
that's for sure. No. No, I hike like relentless, restless maniac,
(15:15):
that's for sure. It's not a second grader. I didn't
mean to hump there a loud. I thought I was
doing that Internally, I'm just gonna stick with that hammock
on this, that trail type. Yeah, understandable. We'll be back
with more of the Parklandia Podcast from my Heart Radio. Hi,
(15:45):
I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is Parklandia. Today. We're
exploring Last and Volcanic National Park in California. There were
plenty of other hikes that we did at last and
Volcanic that were just as awesome and just as beautiful. Yeah,
I really liked that Mantazina Lake trail. Um there was
just so pretty and peaceful. Yeah, peaceful is like absolutely
(16:05):
correct and pretty. My kidding lake means in the lake
is this gorgeous shimmering a little lake by the base
of Lastin Peak in the northwestern portion of the park.
And there's an easy, like super flat trail that surrounds
the lake with multiple little alcoves and viewpoints where you
can get right up to the water's edge and you
(16:27):
can see Lastin Peak in the distance like reflecting perfectly
in the water, and then just all the trees surrounding it,
all the dense like bright green trees. And I remember
that exact part of the trail. I mean, there was
this photograph I got of a gentleman I saw sitting
by the lake painting the scenery um on the canvas
he brought, and it was just so beautiful because it's
(16:47):
just it's so shimmering. I'll just have to add it
on the park Landia Pod Instagram. Yeah, that guy was fascinating.
He was just like this, he looked like something out
of a Pixar movie. He was like this, like wild class,
the older gentleman, just calmly sitting there painting on canvas.
Did he really Yeah, he was really going for it.
(17:08):
I liked it. And the photo you took was so nice.
I thought that was it looked like a professional phone. Well,
thank you, You're welcome. So, speaking of Manzanita Lake, we
also need to talk about our paddle board adventure here
on the water, because there's a lot to discuss and
this was like the key activity at this lake. I
(17:29):
thought I was going to die when I fell off
my paddle board into the freezing cold water. Yeah, I know,
that's the main thing we need to talk about. Love,
it was scary, Like I heard you fall in behind me.
I didn't see you falling, but I heard you like gasping,
like for breath, and you it seemed like you're having
some serious issues. And also I love how you were
like the only person who actually brought your phone on
(17:50):
the paddle board with you and you're the only person
who fell in. I mean I was able to keep
my I found dry though, but the rest of me
was totally submerged in the lake and it was basically
like an ice water bath. Yeah, it looks well, it was.
It was kind of misleading because well, this place is
definitely not for swimming, not at all. And it's misleading
(18:12):
because it looks like it is so crystal clear and
pure looking and it doesn't look like it's that cold.
Now it is tempting to like want to just leap
off my peddle board, but that would be it huge mistake.
I would not recommend that. I've been there, done that,
and not for me. But it does look like bath water,
and it feels like the type of water that would like,
(18:32):
you know, sink the Titanic. Yeah, right, right, so I
guess just stay afloat, stay on the surface and you'll
be fine, and be careful not to drop your phone
in the water. Yes, and speaking of Titanic, I would
totally make make room my paddle ward for you if
you were to fall in. I wouldn't be like rose,
would just be like room for one by. I wouldn't
(18:55):
let you freeze and sink down into the lake, that's
for sure. Yeah, I'm sure you just kept paddling away.
But some other people came to my rescue, so well, yeah,
I was in front of you, and like I said,
I didn't see. I heard it and I heard the aftermath,
but I was like, oh there, but there are other
people nearby who could help quicker, so I love them
(19:16):
kind of swoop in. I know that if I was
in there for a couple more seconds, you would have
came back and go. I would have, of course, yes,
And ultimately it all worked out. You were fine, your
phone was fine, and I'm glad you wind up taking
it because you got some some more incredible photos, including
some really artsy beautiful portraits of me, like lounging on
(19:36):
my paddleboard with my sunglasses and in the background. I know,
all priorities, big priorities, so I'm glad that all it
was a win win for everybody, I think, except for
probably your clothes. Yeah, well they dried up real quick.
Oh that's true. It's a sunny day, so see, no harm,
no foul, And aside from your tumble, this was a
thoroughly great experience. I had never been on a paddle
(19:58):
World before, so I was nervices and starting out, I
didn't know how my balance would be. I thought there
was a good chance of me falling in. Um. Fortunately
I didn't, and I adapted to it really quickly, and
when it did get a little windy out there in
the lake, I just wind up squatting down on my
knees and peddling that way, which also worked out like
really easily. Yeah, that definitely makes a big difference. I mean,
(20:20):
I think I just said on my paddle board the
rest of the time, so I didn't die, Um, but
because it's a lot more stable, right, Yeah, I saw
you do that. I saw my sister do that too.
You guys both kind of um paddled by me sitting down,
and I was like, oh, that's probably good idea. Because
I found myself in this little like alcove by the
by some edge of the lake, and it got so
(20:41):
windy that I couldn't move, like into the wind was
pushing me away, and I'm like, um, there's a good
chance I'm gonna capsize here, so maybe I should do
something about that. Yeah, definitely, right. And then shortly after this,
or at some point in the paddle ward, I think
I was like lying down on my back and I
was gazing up and I'm pretty sure I saw a
bald eagle story overhead at one point, which seemed absolutely
(21:03):
perfect in poetic Yeah, that's my favorite animal. And I
love seeing bald eagles in national parks. I mean it's
not just patriotic, but it's really inspiring. It's the most
patriotic thing to see a bald eagle in national park.
And it doesn't happen often, but like in a moment
like this, you just you're just like wowed. I just
couldn't be better. I don't think we aside from that,
(21:26):
Aside from the bald eagle, I don't think we saw
many animals where we're at Lasson. No, no, not really.
I mean just some small basic like squirrels and you know,
but the animals that live here include like black bears, um,
I think they were talking about mule deers, mountain lions,
they're everywhere, red foxes, and then of course falcons. Yes,
(21:47):
so a good bird park because you have falcons and
we have bald eagles and like larger animals that we
didn't see, probably for the best. Yeah, aside from my
beloved like eagles and other birds, most animals here can
be found below the seven dum foot elevation level. Above
that point is the subalpine zone, which is a lot
(22:09):
more sparse and has very few trees. But below that
zone is where all the trees are like white fur
pine and red fur right, So that makes sense, like
where all the trees are, the animals are likely to
be and animals love a good fur tree, So when
you're hiking at that level, keep your eyes peeled. Yeah.
I wonder of the park we were hoping to see
was um bump as Hell, but we weren't able to
(22:33):
because it was closed for I think a boardwalk. Yeah,
huge bummer, because that, from our research sounds like one of,
if not the most popular areas of the park where
all the thermal activity is. And also I really love
and I want to remind everybody that bump as Hell
it kind of sounds like something from Mortor in Lord
of the Rings, doesn't It has like this fiery, like
(22:55):
demonic um sounding name. And anyway, Yeah, I was so intrigued.
I wanted to go, absolutely, but because that boardwalk was closed,
we were in hell. Yeah, we definitely were. So it
lives up to its name even when it's inaccessible. Yeah,
but honestly, this park has like some of the coolest
names for its different regions, like bump as Hell, Devil's kitchen,
(23:16):
cold boiling lake, right, like more door, mor door, more door,
all of it, cold boiling lake. I mean that to
me that just sounds terrifying. Yeah, also somewhat it's like oxymoronic,
like so and so interesting and kind of scary, and
but I'm obviously into it. Yeah. These are all like
hydrotherma areas in the park and somewhat similar to the
(23:38):
geysers and hot springs and Yellowstone, but on like a
smaller scale. Yeah, it's a much smaller scale, but so
bump as Hell is the largest and most popular, hence
why we were heartbroken that was closed off. Um. But
if you go and you're lucky enough to visit bump
as Hell, it's a three mile boardwalk loop and it
takes you by these bubbling mud pots, boiling pools, steam
(23:59):
vents that like shoot out of the ground. I mean,
it's just it's really amazing. From the research, yeah, I know,
it really looks and sounds like it, and from what
I can tell from photos and my imagination, which is
really all I have to go on at this point,
the whole landscape really looks like a giant kitchen or something.
All these like boiling things and fumes and smells and
(24:20):
like everything all of it now. And if you can't
check out Bump as Hell, you should check out the
other spots like cold Boiling Lake where these steam bubbles
rise to the surface like fizzy soda, like bubbly water. Yeah,
and Boiling Springs Lake where the water is one five
degrees and the lake is surrounded by more mud pods
and steam bends. Yes, yeah, a lot going on there.
(24:42):
But if you just want to click fix and a
sniff of sulfur, you should swing by Sulfur Works, which
isn't really a hiking trail at all. We were thinking
it might be a little more intensive, but you just
kind of park your car on the side of the
road and then it's mostly just an easy sidewalk that
takes you alongside by bling mud pop and a few
stinky steam vents. The thermal activity turns some of the
(25:05):
ground around here like this yellowish greenish color, which is
really pretty. Actually it makes for great views, but it yeah,
great photographs. It does not smell good, though, it's like
very very rank. If you have any idea what sulfur
smells like, then you'll you'll know what I'm talking about
absolutely lodging. Okay, now we have to talk about our airbnbing. Yes, yes,
(25:35):
we do. That place was a dream. Yeah. We didn't
have the r V yet and we were here with family,
so we booked a house in Shingleton, a small town
near the northwestern entrance of the park, not too far
from Manzity that lake right, super convenient, really easy to
get in and out without kind of being in the
thick of it. And the Airbnb was so beautiful. We
have this large cabin like house that kind of at
(25:59):
the end of the road, this small I don't think
it's a dirt road, but it was like this small
winding road into the woods and we're at the very end.
Really a spacious cabin. And my favorite part was when
we arrived for the first time. Not only did we
have like this little welcome signs saying like welcome caro
wax or whatever up front, which was cute, our host
had even baked us like fresh bread and had on
(26:20):
the counter with this strawberry jam that seemed homemade, and
we were so blown away. It smelled great, it tasted great.
What an angel. This person was no good. I mean,
this was the coziest place ever. I remember like just
walking into the backyard, you could see the river going down.
There's like a little stream and sounded perfect. From the
(26:40):
deck up on where the house comes from, you can
look down to like the fire pit area, and I
remember like looking down and seeing like Brian and Whitney
like cuddling in their like hammock and just like having
their own. There were a couple of hammocks down there. Yea.
It was just such an awesome experience to be surrounded
by all these tall trees at the end of a quiet,
bumpy road and yes it was a dirt road. Um.
It was the perfect little like wonderland retreat. Yeah, it
(27:04):
sounds like a fairy tale and it really kind of
felt like it too. It was like a fairy tale,
but with more, um beer, I guess. We had a
lot of beer. Oh so much. We had to make
like multiple beer trips. Right, It's like a PG. Thirteen
fairy tale. And ultimately, and best of all, it's just
like a great place to relax at the end of
the day and watch movies like we watched I think
(27:26):
The Mummy too. She has a few very random select
DVD The Mummy two was one of them. Not the Mummy,
Not the Mummy. Three. The Mummy too. To Brendan Fraser,
Rachel weiss Um, great movie and also the periect place
to play board games, and we of course had our
track in the National Parks board game. Everybody loves it
(27:48):
that game. I mean, it's just so much fun. It's perfect,
like small groups, like the perfect amount for what we had. Yeah, seriously,
and obviously it's perfect to play that when you're in
or near a National Park, so you know everybody's everybody's
into it and loving it and you're you're in the zone.
It's a real people pleaser, much more so than I
need cheesy Mummy movie, that's for sure. Yeah. We didn't
(28:09):
even go out on to any restaurants or anything, I
don't think so. Yeah, we just stocked up on groceries
and drinks and use the kitchen and we grilled, We cooked,
We had these like family dinners. It was really like perfect. Yeah,
it really was perfect. There was this huge wrap around
deck and one end of the deck had a nice
grill that we could cook out with this picnic style
table and each night was like delicious food that we
(28:32):
made and or that you made. I think you cooked
a lot of I just kind of gotten mine and
ate it. Yeah, your dad and I we worked together
and we were trying to figure out how to feed everybody,
and we'll how to take them everywhere, and we'll be
back with more of the Park of any podcasts from
my Heart Radio my favorite. But now we're at that
(28:59):
part of our episode where we talk about our favorite thing. Yeah,
so Broad and I each have our idea in our
head of our favorite things about lastin volcanic conotion of Ark.
We haven't shared with each other what our favorites are,
so now we're gonna spring it on one another. Um,
do you want to start with your favorite thing? Yeah?
(29:19):
Mine truly was that photo of the gentleman right by
the lake, you know painting. I mean, he was just pointing,
he was mapping out. You could just see the artistry
that he was getting ready to put down on that
And if I could ever find him, I tried. I
mailed him once time, tried to get that that painting
when he was finished, and UM, I don't know if
(29:40):
I got the wrong address or anything, but I've never
heard back from him. And I was trying to be
like poetic and just get the mailing address so I
can talk physical mailing address. Mistake. I should have just
got his phone number and his email address and done
it correctly. You know, it is the twenty one century,
but I don't know that. I was just in this
mindset where I was like, this is gonna be poetic.
(30:02):
I'm gonna mail him, will have a correspondence back and
forth about this piece of art. You know, I get
really cheesy and poetic like that, you know it. Yeah,
So that was my favorite part, even though it didn't
end up working out. But if anyone knows who this
gentleman is and let us know, well, what if that
guy this is just between now, but what if that
guy was a ghost? He seems like like I could
(30:24):
see that he looked like he was a little too
picture right, two picture perfect. You might have just been
this spirit. That's a lake spirit. He's definitely a lake spirit. Yeah,
so something considered. All right, all right, So what's your
favorite thing about last volcanic? My favorite thing, I would
say was the hike up to Lasting Peak, And I
think for a few reasons, one of which was this
(30:44):
was kind of my first big, more intensive hike and
This was, I think, um, a starting point for me
that opened the floodgates where I became obsessed with it.
Now I do it a lot, and it was just
beautiful and really really fun. Ultimately, I know, I like
kind of gripes, and uh struggled with certain elements of it,
but the views were just monumental. And the satisfaction of
(31:09):
getting to the top and purchase myself on those jagged
boulders and just looking out at the lakes down way
down below and the other mountaintops in the distance was
really a wonderful experience. And I'm glad I got to
do it with um, some of my family and everybody's
kind of rallied and pulled through. And it wasn't easy,
but it was. Uh, it was an accomplishment and it
(31:32):
felt great. So I would say that's my favorite. Um.
Do you want to say what three things you would
recommend bringing to last and volcanic mess. Um. One of
mine is going to be trekking the parks the National
Parks sport of course, UM, you know, that's just a
must bring because it's so fun to do with family. UM.
(31:52):
The other thing would be plenty of beer. UM, So
that way we don't have to do many trips to
the grocery store for that. Yeah. And then of course,
like family and friends, this is a fantastic, fantastic, fantastic
family park. It is even with the peak, it's just
(32:13):
you know, you don't have to do that part, but
you could still enjoy the views in the lake and
the beautiful weather. Yeah, I would agree with that. And
the fact that it's not super crowded here makes it
very doable for groups, so you don't have to really
worry about a ton of car traffic. What would your
favorite three things? My three things would be I think
especially for paddle boarding purposes or kayaking on Manzonia Lake,
(32:36):
I would recommend having some sort of installation type layer,
Like we have wet suits that we brought. I think
there'd be a good idea to wear that just in
case because you were to fall in, or if I
were to fall on I would rather be in uh
wet suit that would keep me relatively dry and warm
with the life fest oh yeah, in a life that'st
of course, that's good for any water activity, but especially
(32:58):
here in Manzonia Lake where so chilling, so I would
bring that. I would also recommend bringing especially if we're
gonna be hiking around sulfur works or any of the
thermal areas where there's mud pots and steam vents and stuff,
it might be a good idea to bring some nose
plugs because beautiful to look at, they're really marvelous and incredible,
but they don't smell the best. Let's be honest, I
(33:20):
kind of like the smell. M hmm, that's awkward. Yeah,
that's concerning um. And then the third thing I would bring,
I would say bring sunglasses. Were in my case, my
prescription sunglasses might whatever they're called transition less, yes, correct.
And because this, I remember when we were here all
(33:41):
day every day the three days were here, it was
very very stunny, pretty cloudless, very bright, even when it's
not particularly hot necessarily, but I would have been suffering
and pretty much blind if I didn't have some sort
of sunglass situation when I was hiking up glass and peaks.
So I think that's an absolute must anyone. I honestly
(34:03):
think this when we get into dream vacations. We lived it. Yeah,
I think like what we did was perfect. I think
we accomplished that pretty much. That Airbnb was an absolute
dream I think that was the best Airbnb either of
us had ever stayed at or seen. It was so
picture perfect, cozy and lovely, and I mean, I would
say the only thing I would make a dream it
would be maybe a more ideal DVD selection. And that's
(34:27):
um some feedback for our airbnb host. Maybe consider rounding
out your mummy portfolio and then taking us fresh bed
with like a strawberry jam. Not enough, not enough, we
need right, I need all the mummies, and I need
the full Lord of the Rings collection and maybe some
other stuff. I mean, it would just throw in a
Harry Potter too. That never hurts. Come on, Harry Potter.
(34:50):
Emily would love that. Yeah, ditto, right, Yeah, you've been
listening to park Landia, a show about national parks. Parklandia
is a production of Our Heart Radio created by Matt Carouac,
Brad Carouac, and Christopher hasiotis produced and edited by Mike John's.
Our executive producer is Christopher has The otis a special
(35:13):
thank you to Gabrielle Collins, Chrystal Waters and the rest
of the park Landia team. And hey listeners, if you're
enjoying the show, leave us a review on Apple podcast.
It helps other people like you find our show. You
can keep up with us on social media. Check out
our photos on our Instagram at park Landia Pod and
joining on the conversation in our Facebook group park Landio Rangers.
(35:33):
For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the I
Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows, and as always, thank you for listening.
Boiling rivers, bubbling mud pots, steaming hot springs, and giant volcanoes.
It kind of sounds like more door that fiery hellscape
from Lord of the Rings, but really it's Last and
Volcanic National Park, and instead of Mount Doom, it's Lassen Peak.
So Last and Volcanic is the least visited of all
nine of California's national parks, and it's a place that's
(00:21):
not nearly as terrifying as its geologic features. What have
you believe? Yes, as long as you're not diving headfirst
into these mud pots and hot springs, you'll be just fine.
And Lassen Volcanic is really one of the most underrated
gems in the entire National Park Service. It really is.
So for any fans out there of burning hot thermal
features and soaring mountains and Lord of the Rings metaphors,
(00:43):
this is the park for you. Hi, I'm Matt and
I'm Brad. This is the park Land of podcast from
My Heart Radio. We packed up our stuff in Chicago
and moved into an r V where we're traveling the
country full time with our dog Fin exploring America's national parks. Today,
we're talking about Last and Volcanic National Park in California.
(01:11):
Our trip to Last Volcanic was pre r V. It
was part of a family vacation with Matt's dad, sister, brother,
and soon to be sister in law. Yeah, so a
couple of years ago, my dad started this semi annual tradition,
I guess, of taking these family vacations to and around
national parks, primarily which I love. And we started with
(01:32):
a trip to Jackson Hold, Wyoming, where we went to
Grand Teton National Park and Yellows Yellowstone National Park. And
this was in two thousand seventeen, kind of the trip
that triggered my obsession with the use like just immersive
national park vacations. And then this trip to Last Volcanic
was part of a larger northern California vacation with Brad
(01:54):
and my brother's now fiance, Whitney. Yeah, this was our
first time. It's just fun seeking out parts of the
country where we can do these extended road trips together
and combined at least a couple of national parks, and
in this case, Last of Volcanic was coupled with Redwoods
a few hours away. Yeah, so we flew into San
Francisco spent a night in San Francisco, which was great.
(02:15):
We got to like restaurant Hop Bar Hop a little bit,
and then drove up the coast, beautiful scenic drive to
Redwood and then a few hours into like north central
California where a last and volcanic is located. And altogether
it's very doable if you have the time. I think
we did this in about a week, and we had
plenty of time in each location, including Lasson, and especially
(02:36):
when you're driving in a normal car and you're not
chewing a trail I filled with syrah, it's very doable.
That makes a very big difference. It does. It does
so before we pay Class and Volcanic, none of us
really knew much about it, which was part of the appeal.
I think it was underrated. Um, we didn't know any
information about like hiking trails or history. We just knew that, hey,
(02:59):
it's a national can California that doesn't get the love
that like Yosemite and Death Valley and Joshua Tree does.
So let's go for it. Let's explore, and late summer
was the perfect time to do so that's when we
took this trip. It was like late September time frame,
and we just really kind of dove into it and
spent I think a good three full days here exploring
(03:22):
this under the radar national park. Yeah. I mean we
both in two parks like Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains
in the summer months, so we know how crowded these
parks can get. Yeah, and the passive aggressive road rage
is real. Yeah. I remember driving between a slower car
and Yellowstone and the driver had his arms sticking out
the window the whole time, and you were getting so
annoyed at Yeah, for no real reason. He wasn't It's
(03:44):
not like he was going fifty under the speed limit
or anything. I was just like driving the car and
he was going like two miles slower than I would like,
and I was just like getting so annoyed with it
with him and especially his arm, Like, put your arm
in your window, sir. But your road rage is never
really national, is it not. I'm not known for my
rational road rage, that's for sure. Yeah. But anyway, last
(04:05):
and Volcanic really didn't have much traffic at all. That
was so great that that makes a huge difference, honestly,
because being stock and taking such a long time to
get from like one trail to the other is really
kind of maddening. And the reason for that, the reason
why last a Volcanic is so accessible is this park
gets less than five thousand annual visitors per year, which
(04:25):
is very reasonable for a family vacation and shockingly low
compared to most southern California parks especially. Yeah, I think
it has a lot to do with the fact that
Lasson is a bit more off the beaten path right
kind of the middle of northern California. It takes quite
a while to drive there from San Francisco and even
the red Wet area really, I mean, um, that's you
(04:47):
know right, yeah, And it's it's probably closer to like Reno,
Nevada than San Francisco, because that's where we wind up
playing out of instead of circling around and Reno small,
and so it's in a very like kind of un
populated by comparison part of California. I think that makes
a big factor. Also, maybe another factor, maybe people are
just scared of it. I mean that that would be
(05:09):
understandable with a name that has volcanic in the title,
I'd say that's that's a reasonable assessment. Yeah, Yeah, sure,
but like we said, there's nothing here to be really
afraid of. No, no, no, no, just keep in mind
that Lasting Peak, which is the park's namesake volcano and
the largest plug dome volcano in the world, is still
very much a lot. Stop scaring our listeners, please, Well,
(05:32):
I'm just being brutally honest, and I feel like that's
helpful to create these expectations geology. Someone's got to remind
everyone that last in Peak last erupted in nineteen fifteen,
which actually was a year before Last Volcanic National Park
was established, and also a year before the National Park
Service in general was established. And I also didn't realize
(05:53):
that that Lasson was established the same year as the
National Park Service. That's so poetic. It's actually pretty reason
for volcanic eruption. Yeah, that's that's that's what I'm saying. Yeah,
aside from Mount Saint Helen's lass and is the only
volcano in the whole Cascade Range to erupt after nine Yeah,
hopefully eruption wasn't as bad as Mount St. Helenslow right. No, No,
it wasn't nearly as bad as that one. It was
(06:15):
mostly just a series of these like smaller eruptions, nothing
too devastating, but still seeing this volcano spew like ash
and neon bright lava was I'm sure a startlingly reminder
of the power of this place. Yeah, nothing like lava
to put things into perspective. That's actually a good life
motto in general, I think, regardless of whether you're near
(06:36):
volcano or not. Right. Yeah, And even though Lasson Peak
gets a lot of attention from its like recent activity
like this um, the region has really been stirring up
trouble a lot longer than that. Yes, very troublesome region.
So the Last Volcanic Center, which kind of sounds like
a y m c A for fiery mountains. This for
this first started taking shape more than eight hundred thousand
(06:57):
years ago as various ash and law of flows form
the foundation for this huge caldera and Last and Peak
and other mountains in the park arose during the apply
dubbed Lasting stage of geologic formation, which spanned from three
thousand years ago to even as recent as just eleven
hundred years ago. This is also one of the only
places on Earth that contains all four types of volcano plug, dome, shield,
(07:22):
cinder cone, and strato volcano, which sounds terrifying. Yeah. And
also during this time, more and more eruptions took place,
which created a field of plug dome volcanoes. I mean
these get their name for the slow moving lava that
cools on the surface of the volcanoes and seals their domes.
That's so fascinating to me. I had never heard of
such a thing before going to this park. Yeah, you
(07:44):
really learn something new above volcanoes every day. Yeah, I guess.
I mean I would love one of those like page
of day calendars that is nothing about volcano ef facts
that enriched my life. So now that we've sufficiently terrified
you about explosions and lava, let's tell you about how
you can hike up lastin Peak Trills. This is definitely
(08:06):
when you're visiting lastin Volcanic you have to. This is
a bucket list item. You just you have to do
this one. The mountain gets its name from a Danish
blacksmith named Peter Lasson who lived in the region in
the eighteen thirties and served as a guide for immigrants
making the journey through to the Sacramento Valley. Yeah. The
fact that this park's namesake mountain and centerpiece makes this
(08:28):
required hiking. I'd say yeah, for sure, because not only
in like the name alone is it iconic, but it's
the most striking feature in the whole park. You can
see it from pretty much any vantage point, and it's
so tempting to want to do it and export it.
So I would say it's very worthwhile, though keeping in
mind it is a strenuous hike. It's about two thousand
(08:49):
feet of elevation gain in five miles round trip, so
bear in mind and definitely come prepared, starting early, layering
appropriately because it does get cold up there, and then
sunscreen and plenty of water. That being said, it's totally
worth it, and the whole experience is thoroughly amazing. Yeah,
this is kind of the first major thing that we
(09:09):
all did here on our full, first full day in
the park. I mean it was definitely a priority for everyone. Yeah,
it was. I remember discussing it the night before and
kind of mapping at our day, and I was a
little intimidated because this was prior to my days of
hardcore hiking on a regular basis. Now I could probably
do this no problem, but this was still an intimidating
(09:32):
mountain for me. The notion of two thousand feet of
elevation gain and five miles round trip. I was a
little worried, but I'm glad we went for it, and
we all just had a blast and we so we
started by waking up pretty early, leaving our airbnb house
that we're staying at outside of the park to get
an early start hiking. And this is a good point
(09:54):
because there's not a ton of shade on the trail,
so we didn't want to be hiking like the middle
of the day when it's the sunniest and hottest. Yeah,
it's still not as hot as Lava though. Yeah, we
didn't have to hike through lava, but compared to Lava,
the temperature here was downright wintry. I would say, it's
especially the further you got. Obviously it's kind of chili.
So I'm glad that I was wearing a light jacket. Yeah.
(10:17):
I remember, like when we were doing the trail, I
only did part of it, like a very small part
of it, and I actually wound up hanging my hammock
up and these grove of trees just to get some
time to relax and have my own time. Um, because
I just felt like mentally, I was getting stirred up
and I was just getting angry at nothing, and so
I just figured it's good to separate myself and just
(10:37):
relax in the hammock and on wine, you know, on
my own for a bit. Yeah. You always seem to
have your hammock at the ready, even when no one
knows about it. You just kind of pull it out
of your pocket. Yeah, definitely, But that was good. It
was this cozy, beautiful, little shaded alcove gray for hammocking.
It looked like and you know, you know your limits,
(10:57):
and we gotta relax. You gotta relax, and certainly the
last thing you need is me hustling you up a
steep mountain. That would not be relaxing at all. Yeah,
we didn't. We just really get each other, don't We
relax in different ways. And you guys had a great
time on that hike anyway, we did. Yeah, it was
really awesome. It took probably a couple of hours to
get to the summit um. Along the way, we stopped
(11:18):
several times to take photos and gullsa water, of course,
and just kind of catch our breaths because there's you're
at stile elevation that breathing can be somewhat strenuous if
you're especially if you're hustling at a rapid clip, and
the switchbacks are pretty brutal and relentless and NonStop too.
It's one of those mountain hikes where you can see
(11:40):
the switchbacks up and you're just like one of these
going to end there at each corner. It's really just
like breaking my spirit. But the views are absolutely worth it,
so that that really helped. And like I said, since
we're hardly any trees blocking our view, the best part
about that is you could see nothing but sweeping panorama
us of all these plug doum volcanoes all around you.
(12:03):
And then even better, my favorite part was all these
twinkling little lakes in deep green forests and the valleys between.
It was so pretty. Yeah that does sound amazing and
quite tranquil really, I mean, but still not a drinkle
as my hammock. Well yeah, I mean, it's it's hard
to out tranquil a hammock. I'll give you that. But
when we when we finally made it to the peak
(12:23):
of Lassin, there was still a little bit snow up
there actually, So like I said, again, be prepared for
what their changes. So apparently there must always be snow
there year round. Um, I guess because this is like
late summer. I mean it was hot and sunny. It
was hot, yeah, and this was late summer. So if
there's ever a time where snow shouldn't be there, I
would imagine it would be now because it's had plenty
(12:45):
of time to melt. But there was a gigantic chunk
of snow, like an icy little slick, and we had
a kind of shuffle across it unexpectedly, trying not to
slip and slide as I inched my way to the
rocky summit. And so once we did that, which wasn't
too wasn't too hard as long as you're just careful
(13:05):
with your footing. The last bit here requires some like
very legit scrambling up a boulder field if you want
to reach the technical top of it. There's this little
kind of marker in one of the stones, and we
obviously wanted to do that. We didn't want to come
up to like point of last and people. We wanted
to like climb our way up these boulders and then
(13:26):
like eat lunch on in the most physically uncomfortable environment
we could find. Of course, why why would you do
something different? I know, right, So I remember just like
grabbing the bag of granola or trail mix from whoever
was carrying it, and like just shoveling into my mouth
like for me, a funnel with a bag, and then
just pouring it down my throat because I was so
(13:47):
so hungry and so thirsty. And this was one of
those things where once you finished last in peak, it
feels so well earned and you can just kind of
sit and relax and breathe, and also you it's the
kind of place want to sit and just drinking the
sites because you can see for miles and miles and
miles literally like uninhibited views. And my dad actually pointed
(14:08):
out in the distance the part distance you can see
this huge mountain. He said it was Mount Shasta in
the distance, and I have no reason to not believe that,
So I guess that was Mount Shasta. And yeah, we
just kind of hung out and caught our breath and
got prepared for the journey down. It was great. Yeah,
there's just something about hiking that makes like sandwiches taste
(14:30):
so much better. Yeah, I know, we definitely had a
bunch of sandwiches up there too, trail mix sandwiches, probably bananas,
you know, and pretty much anything and everything we could
shove into my dad's backpack. Um, and I think my
go to for something like this or any sandwiches I
usually have, like a P B and J and it.
(14:52):
I think this the lastin peak P B and J
was the best P B and J of my life.
I still like I mean, I'm still in the same
sandwich that I've been eating since second grade. But there's
just something about a hike that makes it taste so
much better. But you definitely don't hike like a second grader,
that's for sure. No. No, I hike like relentless, restless maniac,
(15:15):
that's for sure. It's not a second grader. I didn't
mean to hump there a loud. I thought I was
doing that Internally, I'm just gonna stick with that hammock
on this, that trail type. Yeah, understandable. We'll be back
with more of the Parklandia Podcast from my Heart Radio. Hi,
(15:45):
I'm Matt and I'm Brad. This is Parklandia. Today. We're
exploring Last and Volcanic National Park in California. There were
plenty of other hikes that we did at last and
Volcanic that were just as awesome and just as beautiful. Yeah,
I really liked that Mantazina Lake trail. Um there was
just so pretty and peaceful. Yeah, peaceful is like absolutely
(16:05):
correct and pretty. My kidding lake means in the lake
is this gorgeous shimmering a little lake by the base
of Lastin Peak in the northwestern portion of the park.
And there's an easy, like super flat trail that surrounds
the lake with multiple little alcoves and viewpoints where you
can get right up to the water's edge and you
(16:27):
can see Lastin Peak in the distance like reflecting perfectly
in the water, and then just all the trees surrounding it,
all the dense like bright green trees. And I remember
that exact part of the trail. I mean, there was
this photograph I got of a gentleman I saw sitting
by the lake painting the scenery um on the canvas
he brought, and it was just so beautiful because it's
(16:47):
just it's so shimmering. I'll just have to add it
on the park Landia Pod Instagram. Yeah, that guy was fascinating.
He was just like this, he looked like something out
of a Pixar movie. He was like this, like wild class,
the older gentleman, just calmly sitting there painting on canvas.
Did he really Yeah, he was really going for it.
(17:08):
I liked it. And the photo you took was so nice.
I thought that was it looked like a professional phone. Well,
thank you, You're welcome. So, speaking of Manzanita Lake, we
also need to talk about our paddle board adventure here
on the water, because there's a lot to discuss and
this was like the key activity at this lake. I
(17:29):
thought I was going to die when I fell off
my paddle board into the freezing cold water. Yeah, I know,
that's the main thing we need to talk about. Love,
it was scary, Like I heard you fall in behind me.
I didn't see you falling, but I heard you like gasping,
like for breath, and you it seemed like you're having
some serious issues. And also I love how you were
like the only person who actually brought your phone on
(17:50):
the paddle board with you and you're the only person
who fell in. I mean I was able to keep
my I found dry though, but the rest of me
was totally submerged in the lake and it was basically
like an ice water bath. Yeah, it looks well, it was.
It was kind of misleading because well, this place is
definitely not for swimming, not at all. And it's misleading
(18:12):
because it looks like it is so crystal clear and
pure looking and it doesn't look like it's that cold.
Now it is tempting to like want to just leap
off my peddle board, but that would be it huge mistake.
I would not recommend that. I've been there, done that,
and not for me. But it does look like bath water,
and it feels like the type of water that would like,
(18:32):
you know, sink the Titanic. Yeah, right, right, so I
guess just stay afloat, stay on the surface and you'll
be fine, and be careful not to drop your phone
in the water. Yes, and speaking of Titanic, I would
totally make make room my paddle ward for you if
you were to fall in. I wouldn't be like rose,
would just be like room for one by. I wouldn't
(18:55):
let you freeze and sink down into the lake, that's
for sure. Yeah, I'm sure you just kept paddling away.
But some other people came to my rescue, so well, yeah,
I was in front of you, and like I said,
I didn't see. I heard it and I heard the aftermath,
but I was like, oh there, but there are other
people nearby who could help quicker, so I love them
(19:16):
kind of swoop in. I know that if I was
in there for a couple more seconds, you would have
came back and go. I would have, of course, yes,
And ultimately it all worked out. You were fine, your
phone was fine, and I'm glad you wind up taking
it because you got some some more incredible photos, including
some really artsy beautiful portraits of me, like lounging on
(19:36):
my paddleboard with my sunglasses and in the background. I know,
all priorities, big priorities, so I'm glad that all it
was a win win for everybody, I think, except for
probably your clothes. Yeah, well they dried up real quick.
Oh that's true. It's a sunny day, so see, no harm,
no foul, And aside from your tumble, this was a
thoroughly great experience. I had never been on a paddle
(19:58):
World before, so I was nervices and starting out, I
didn't know how my balance would be. I thought there
was a good chance of me falling in. Um. Fortunately
I didn't, and I adapted to it really quickly, and
when it did get a little windy out there in
the lake, I just wind up squatting down on my
knees and peddling that way, which also worked out like
really easily. Yeah, that definitely makes a big difference. I mean,
(20:20):
I think I just said on my paddle board the
rest of the time, so I didn't die, Um, but
because it's a lot more stable, right, Yeah, I saw
you do that. I saw my sister do that too.
You guys both kind of um paddled by me sitting down,
and I was like, oh, that's probably good idea. Because
I found myself in this little like alcove by the
by some edge of the lake, and it got so
(20:41):
windy that I couldn't move, like into the wind was
pushing me away, and I'm like, um, there's a good
chance I'm gonna capsize here, so maybe I should do
something about that. Yeah, definitely, right. And then shortly after this,
or at some point in the paddle ward, I think
I was like lying down on my back and I
was gazing up and I'm pretty sure I saw a
bald eagle story overhead at one point, which seemed absolutely
(21:03):
perfect in poetic Yeah, that's my favorite animal. And I
love seeing bald eagles in national parks. I mean it's
not just patriotic, but it's really inspiring. It's the most
patriotic thing to see a bald eagle in national park.
And it doesn't happen often, but like in a moment
like this, you just you're just like wowed. I just
couldn't be better. I don't think we aside from that,
(21:26):
Aside from the bald eagle, I don't think we saw
many animals where we're at Lasson. No, no, not really.
I mean just some small basic like squirrels and you know,
but the animals that live here include like black bears, um,
I think they were talking about mule deers, mountain lions,
they're everywhere, red foxes, and then of course falcons. Yes,
(21:47):
so a good bird park because you have falcons and
we have bald eagles and like larger animals that we
didn't see, probably for the best. Yeah, aside from my
beloved like eagles and other birds, most animals here can
be found below the seven dum foot elevation level. Above
that point is the subalpine zone, which is a lot
(22:09):
more sparse and has very few trees. But below that
zone is where all the trees are like white fur
pine and red fur right, So that makes sense, like
where all the trees are, the animals are likely to
be and animals love a good fur tree, So when
you're hiking at that level, keep your eyes peeled. Yeah.
I wonder of the park we were hoping to see
was um bump as Hell, but we weren't able to
(22:33):
because it was closed for I think a boardwalk. Yeah,
huge bummer, because that, from our research sounds like one of,
if not the most popular areas of the park where
all the thermal activity is. And also I really love
and I want to remind everybody that bump as Hell
it kind of sounds like something from Mortor in Lord
of the Rings, doesn't It has like this fiery, like
(22:55):
demonic um sounding name. And anyway, Yeah, I was so intrigued.
I wanted to go, absolutely, but because that boardwalk was closed,
we were in hell. Yeah, we definitely were. So it
lives up to its name even when it's inaccessible. Yeah,
but honestly, this park has like some of the coolest
names for its different regions, like bump as Hell, Devil's kitchen,
(23:16):
cold boiling lake, right, like more door, mor door, more door,
all of it, cold boiling lake. I mean that to
me that just sounds terrifying. Yeah, also somewhat it's like oxymoronic,
like so and so interesting and kind of scary, and
but I'm obviously into it. Yeah. These are all like
hydrotherma areas in the park and somewhat similar to the
(23:38):
geysers and hot springs and Yellowstone, but on like a
smaller scale. Yeah, it's a much smaller scale, but so
bump as Hell is the largest and most popular, hence
why we were heartbroken that was closed off. Um. But
if you go and you're lucky enough to visit bump
as Hell, it's a three mile boardwalk loop and it
takes you by these bubbling mud pots, boiling pools, steam
(23:59):
vents that like shoot out of the ground. I mean,
it's just it's really amazing. From the research, yeah, I know,
it really looks and sounds like it, and from what
I can tell from photos and my imagination, which is
really all I have to go on at this point,
the whole landscape really looks like a giant kitchen or something.
All these like boiling things and fumes and smells and
(24:20):
like everything all of it now. And if you can't
check out Bump as Hell, you should check out the
other spots like cold Boiling Lake where these steam bubbles
rise to the surface like fizzy soda, like bubbly water. Yeah,
and Boiling Springs Lake where the water is one five
degrees and the lake is surrounded by more mud pods
and steam bends. Yes, yeah, a lot going on there.
(24:42):
But if you just want to click fix and a
sniff of sulfur, you should swing by Sulfur Works, which
isn't really a hiking trail at all. We were thinking
it might be a little more intensive, but you just
kind of park your car on the side of the
road and then it's mostly just an easy sidewalk that
takes you alongside by bling mud pop and a few
stinky steam vents. The thermal activity turns some of the
(25:05):
ground around here like this yellowish greenish color, which is
really pretty. Actually it makes for great views, but it yeah,
great photographs. It does not smell good, though, it's like
very very rank. If you have any idea what sulfur
smells like, then you'll you'll know what I'm talking about
absolutely lodging. Okay, now we have to talk about our airbnbing. Yes, yes,
(25:35):
we do. That place was a dream. Yeah. We didn't
have the r V yet and we were here with family,
so we booked a house in Shingleton, a small town
near the northwestern entrance of the park, not too far
from Manzity that lake right, super convenient, really easy to
get in and out without kind of being in the
thick of it. And the Airbnb was so beautiful. We
have this large cabin like house that kind of at
(25:59):
the end of the road, this small I don't think
it's a dirt road, but it was like this small
winding road into the woods and we're at the very end.
Really a spacious cabin. And my favorite part was when
we arrived for the first time. Not only did we
have like this little welcome signs saying like welcome caro
wax or whatever up front, which was cute, our host
had even baked us like fresh bread and had on
(26:20):
the counter with this strawberry jam that seemed homemade, and
we were so blown away. It smelled great, it tasted great.
What an angel. This person was no good. I mean,
this was the coziest place ever. I remember like just
walking into the backyard, you could see the river going down.
There's like a little stream and sounded perfect. From the
(26:40):
deck up on where the house comes from, you can
look down to like the fire pit area, and I
remember like looking down and seeing like Brian and Whitney
like cuddling in their like hammock and just like having
their own. There were a couple of hammocks down there. Yea.
It was just such an awesome experience to be surrounded
by all these tall trees at the end of a quiet,
bumpy road and yes it was a dirt road. Um.
It was the perfect little like wonderland retreat. Yeah, it
(27:04):
sounds like a fairy tale and it really kind of
felt like it too. It was like a fairy tale,
but with more, um beer, I guess. We had a
lot of beer. Oh so much. We had to make
like multiple beer trips. Right, It's like a PG. Thirteen
fairy tale. And ultimately, and best of all, it's just
like a great place to relax at the end of
the day and watch movies like we watched I think
(27:26):
The Mummy too. She has a few very random select
DVD The Mummy two was one of them. Not the Mummy,
Not the Mummy. Three. The Mummy too. To Brendan Fraser,
Rachel weiss Um, great movie and also the periect place
to play board games, and we of course had our
track in the National Parks board game. Everybody loves it
(27:48):
that game. I mean, it's just so much fun. It's perfect,
like small groups, like the perfect amount for what we had. Yeah, seriously,
and obviously it's perfect to play that when you're in
or near a National Park, so you know everybody's everybody's
into it and loving it and you're you're in the zone.
It's a real people pleaser, much more so than I
need cheesy Mummy movie, that's for sure. Yeah. We didn't
(28:09):
even go out on to any restaurants or anything, I
don't think so. Yeah, we just stocked up on groceries
and drinks and use the kitchen and we grilled, We cooked,
We had these like family dinners. It was really like perfect. Yeah,
it really was perfect. There was this huge wrap around
deck and one end of the deck had a nice
grill that we could cook out with this picnic style
table and each night was like delicious food that we
(28:32):
made and or that you made. I think you cooked
a lot of I just kind of gotten mine and
ate it. Yeah, your dad and I we worked together
and we were trying to figure out how to feed everybody,
and we'll how to take them everywhere, and we'll be
back with more of the Park of any podcasts from
my Heart Radio my favorite. But now we're at that
(28:59):
part of our episode where we talk about our favorite thing. Yeah,
so Broad and I each have our idea in our
head of our favorite things about lastin volcanic conotion of Ark.
We haven't shared with each other what our favorites are,
so now we're gonna spring it on one another. Um,
do you want to start with your favorite thing? Yeah?
(29:19):
Mine truly was that photo of the gentleman right by
the lake, you know painting. I mean, he was just pointing,
he was mapping out. You could just see the artistry
that he was getting ready to put down on that
And if I could ever find him, I tried. I
mailed him once time, tried to get that that painting
when he was finished, and UM, I don't know if
(29:40):
I got the wrong address or anything, but I've never
heard back from him. And I was trying to be
like poetic and just get the mailing address so I
can talk physical mailing address. Mistake. I should have just
got his phone number and his email address and done
it correctly. You know, it is the twenty one century,
but I don't know that. I was just in this
mindset where I was like, this is gonna be poetic.
(30:02):
I'm gonna mail him, will have a correspondence back and
forth about this piece of art. You know, I get
really cheesy and poetic like that, you know it. Yeah,
So that was my favorite part, even though it didn't
end up working out. But if anyone knows who this
gentleman is and let us know, well, what if that
guy this is just between now, but what if that
guy was a ghost? He seems like like I could
(30:24):
see that he looked like he was a little too
picture right, two picture perfect. You might have just been
this spirit. That's a lake spirit. He's definitely a lake spirit. Yeah,
so something considered. All right, all right, So what's your
favorite thing about last volcanic? My favorite thing, I would
say was the hike up to Lasting Peak, And I
think for a few reasons, one of which was this
(30:44):
was kind of my first big, more intensive hike and
This was, I think, um, a starting point for me
that opened the floodgates where I became obsessed with it.
Now I do it a lot, and it was just
beautiful and really really fun. Ultimately, I know, I like
kind of gripes, and uh struggled with certain elements of it,
but the views were just monumental. And the satisfaction of
(31:09):
getting to the top and purchase myself on those jagged
boulders and just looking out at the lakes down way
down below and the other mountaintops in the distance was
really a wonderful experience. And I'm glad I got to
do it with um, some of my family and everybody's
kind of rallied and pulled through. And it wasn't easy,
but it was. Uh, it was an accomplishment and it
(31:32):
felt great. So I would say that's my favorite. Um.
Do you want to say what three things you would
recommend bringing to last and volcanic mess. Um. One of
mine is going to be trekking the parks the National
Parks sport of course, UM, you know, that's just a
must bring because it's so fun to do with family. UM.
(31:52):
The other thing would be plenty of beer. UM, So
that way we don't have to do many trips to
the grocery store for that. Yeah. And then of course,
like family and friends, this is a fantastic, fantastic, fantastic
family park. It is even with the peak, it's just
(32:13):
you know, you don't have to do that part, but
you could still enjoy the views in the lake and
the beautiful weather. Yeah, I would agree with that. And
the fact that it's not super crowded here makes it
very doable for groups, so you don't have to really
worry about a ton of car traffic. What would your
favorite three things? My three things would be I think
especially for paddle boarding purposes or kayaking on Manzonia Lake,
(32:36):
I would recommend having some sort of installation type layer,
Like we have wet suits that we brought. I think
there'd be a good idea to wear that just in
case because you were to fall in, or if I
were to fall on I would rather be in uh
wet suit that would keep me relatively dry and warm
with the life fest oh yeah, in a life that'st
of course, that's good for any water activity, but especially
(32:58):
here in Manzonia Lake where so chilling, so I would
bring that. I would also recommend bringing especially if we're
gonna be hiking around sulfur works or any of the
thermal areas where there's mud pots and steam vents and stuff,
it might be a good idea to bring some nose
plugs because beautiful to look at, they're really marvelous and incredible,
but they don't smell the best. Let's be honest, I
(33:20):
kind of like the smell. M hmm, that's awkward. Yeah,
that's concerning um. And then the third thing I would bring,
I would say bring sunglasses. Were in my case, my
prescription sunglasses might whatever they're called transition less, yes, correct.
And because this, I remember when we were here all
(33:41):
day every day the three days were here, it was
very very stunny, pretty cloudless, very bright, even when it's
not particularly hot necessarily, but I would have been suffering
and pretty much blind if I didn't have some sort
of sunglass situation when I was hiking up glass and peaks.
So I think that's an absolute must anyone. I honestly
(34:03):
think this when we get into dream vacations. We lived it. Yeah,
I think like what we did was perfect. I think
we accomplished that pretty much. That Airbnb was an absolute
dream I think that was the best Airbnb either of
us had ever stayed at or seen. It was so
picture perfect, cozy and lovely, and I mean, I would
say the only thing I would make a dream it
would be maybe a more ideal DVD selection. And that's
(34:27):
um some feedback for our airbnb host. Maybe consider rounding
out your mummy portfolio and then taking us fresh bed
with like a strawberry jam. Not enough, not enough, we
need right, I need all the mummies, and I need
the full Lord of the Rings collection and maybe some
other stuff. I mean, it would just throw in a
Harry Potter too. That never hurts. Come on, Harry Potter.
(34:50):
Emily would love that. Yeah, ditto, right, Yeah, you've been
listening to park Landia, a show about national parks. Parklandia
is a production of Our Heart Radio created by Matt Carouac,
Brad Carouac, and Christopher hasiotis produced and edited by Mike John's.
Our executive producer is Christopher has The otis a special
(35:13):
thank you to Gabrielle Collins, Chrystal Waters and the rest
of the park Landia team. And hey listeners, if you're
enjoying the show, leave us a review on Apple podcast.
It helps other people like you find our show. You
can keep up with us on social media. Check out
our photos on our Instagram at park Landia Pod and
joining on the conversation in our Facebook group park Landio Rangers.
(35:33):
For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the I
Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows, and as always, thank you for listening.
Parklandia News
Hosts And Creators
Brad Kirouac
Matt Kirouac
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