August 12-13
Left Sacramento 9:00 PM 8/12 and returned 6:30 PM 8/13
Total Miles Hiked-11.4
Total Elevation Gained- 4,352 feet
Hours Away From Home-22 ½
Hours Awake-21 ½
Hours Asleep- 1
Lassen Peak is going through a 5-year renovation. During these years, the peak trail is only open about 2 days a month during three months of the year. That's right....6 days a year! The trail was scheduled to be open from midnight on 8/13 until midnight on 8/15. My plan was to hike it before the crowds and then take advantage of the crowds to hike a nearby peak I had always wanted to summit. I had planned to leave Sacramento at about midnight…but sleep seemed to elude me so I left at about 9:00. After a brief stop at my classroom to make a drop off/pick up, I hit highway 65 north. At 10:23, I saw my first meteor of the 2011 Perseid's Meteor Shower. It would be the last I would see until I hit the trail after midnight.
The drive up was peaceful…very peaceful.
I arrived in the Lassen Peak parking lot at about 12:20 AM, got packed up and hit the 4.4 mile trail. I passed three groups of 2 coming down on my way to the summit. All were dressed in daytime clothes and VERY cold. I felt good about the multiple layers of clothes that filled my rucksack.
During the two hour hike I saw another 3-4 meteors as I stopped to admired the sky. The full moon was beautiful indeed, but it did make seeing falling meteors more difficult. The higher I climbed the colder it got and harder the wind blew. The intensity of the full moon meant that I never once had to turn on my headlamp.
I hit the top at about 2:30 AM and was amazed to find myself all alone. I set up a ground tarp with my thermorest chair before pouring myself a steaming cup of coffee from my thermos.
I was in heaven…..perfect silence, backed by only the sound of the wind. It was amazing…and just what I needed. I sat alone for the next 3 hours watching everything and nothing all at the same time. It was the definition of pure relaxation. I was able to see about 20 shooting stars an hour going in all directions and seeming to emanate from the center of the constellation Perseid. And then the show continued. I was able to watch the setting of the full moon followed later by the sunrise. As the sun slowly rose above the horizon, a group of Chico State students arrived. I enjoyed a few minutes of talking to them before heading on down the mountain. On the way down to the parking lot I saw a wide array of people heading up toward the summit. The first hikers I saw were what I would call, “Old Timers.” These were true hikers…but back in the day. It was apparent that these hikers had summited plenty of mountains…..but none in quite a while. The first hint was how many of these hikers were carrying ice axes and crampons. Yes, there was an amazing amount of snow left on the mountain on August 13th, but no where near the amount that would warrant the kinds of equipment and boots these hikers were donning. The next bubble of hikers I passed included people who either hiked one well known and relatively easy mountain a year, or who had never hiked any mountain before. It was an interesting mix. That bubble culminated with a lone male hiker passing me and saying, “I should have done this 30 years ago instead of now!” Ouch… At the bottom of the trail, the parking lot was a flurry of activity. There was every kind of hiker with every piece of gear imaginable. I got out just in time. I drove to the Visitor Center to check to see if I needed a Wilderness Permit to do the same thing as I did last night….tonight on Brokeoff Mountain. The ranger told me that since they were free I might as well get a permit. After doing my paperwork I suddenly became VERY sleepy. It was only then that I realized that I had only slept about four hours in the past 26 hours. Time to take a nap. I waked out to my car…lowered the seat back…and slept for an entire 60 minutes. I woke up surprised that I had only slept an hour and yet felt so refreshed. Time to hike on. I drove to the Brokeoff Trailhead and readied my gear. My plan was to hike about ¾ of the way to the summit and find a shady tree that I could hopefully sleep the daytime hours away. My plan was to hopefully see the moon rise and sunset before hiking back down to the car and heading home.
Didn’t quit go down like that. I hiked though some amazing wildflowers for about an hour before breaking out into some surprisingly dense forest. I found a perfect spot to nap. Perfect… Laid down for about 30 minutes and just knew it wasn’t gonna happen for me. So, I dawned my pack and headed to the summit to find it empty with the exception of a quite couple over on the edge. I rolled out my tarp…opened my can of Oregon tuna…and enjoyed the view for about two hours. About 2:30 I headed down toward the trail-head and arrived at my car at 4:00. I had a peaceful and uneventful drive home arriving at 6:30. I had just enough time to clean up my gear, order and eat Chinese food…before I passed out for the night.
This was one of the most rejuvenating trips in a long time for me. I left town with feelings of being overwhelmed, stuck, at a loss, confused, frustrated, and sad. I woke up Sunday morning with the feelings of optimism, hope, love, and gratitude.
Life is good. Take a hike.
Left Sacramento 9:00 PM 8/12 and returned 6:30 PM 8/13
Total Miles Hiked-11.4
Total Elevation Gained- 4,352 feet
Hours Away From Home-22 ½
Hours Awake-21 ½
Hours Asleep- 1
Lassen Peak is going through a 5-year renovation. During these years, the peak trail is only open about 2 days a month during three months of the year. That's right....6 days a year! The trail was scheduled to be open from midnight on 8/13 until midnight on 8/15. My plan was to hike it before the crowds and then take advantage of the crowds to hike a nearby peak I had always wanted to summit. I had planned to leave Sacramento at about midnight…but sleep seemed to elude me so I left at about 9:00. After a brief stop at my classroom to make a drop off/pick up, I hit highway 65 north. At 10:23, I saw my first meteor of the 2011 Perseid's Meteor Shower. It would be the last I would see until I hit the trail after midnight.
The drive up was peaceful…very peaceful.
I arrived in the Lassen Peak parking lot at about 12:20 AM, got packed up and hit the 4.4 mile trail. I passed three groups of 2 coming down on my way to the summit. All were dressed in daytime clothes and VERY cold. I felt good about the multiple layers of clothes that filled my rucksack.
During the two hour hike I saw another 3-4 meteors as I stopped to admired the sky. The full moon was beautiful indeed, but it did make seeing falling meteors more difficult. The higher I climbed the colder it got and harder the wind blew. The intensity of the full moon meant that I never once had to turn on my headlamp.
I hit the top at about 2:30 AM and was amazed to find myself all alone. I set up a ground tarp with my thermorest chair before pouring myself a steaming cup of coffee from my thermos.
I was in heaven…..perfect silence, backed by only the sound of the wind. It was amazing…and just what I needed. I sat alone for the next 3 hours watching everything and nothing all at the same time. It was the definition of pure relaxation. I was able to see about 20 shooting stars an hour going in all directions and seeming to emanate from the center of the constellation Perseid. And then the show continued. I was able to watch the setting of the full moon followed later by the sunrise. As the sun slowly rose above the horizon, a group of Chico State students arrived. I enjoyed a few minutes of talking to them before heading on down the mountain. On the way down to the parking lot I saw a wide array of people heading up toward the summit. The first hikers I saw were what I would call, “Old Timers.” These were true hikers…but back in the day. It was apparent that these hikers had summited plenty of mountains…..but none in quite a while. The first hint was how many of these hikers were carrying ice axes and crampons. Yes, there was an amazing amount of snow left on the mountain on August 13th, but no where near the amount that would warrant the kinds of equipment and boots these hikers were donning. The next bubble of hikers I passed included people who either hiked one well known and relatively easy mountain a year, or who had never hiked any mountain before. It was an interesting mix. That bubble culminated with a lone male hiker passing me and saying, “I should have done this 30 years ago instead of now!” Ouch… At the bottom of the trail, the parking lot was a flurry of activity. There was every kind of hiker with every piece of gear imaginable. I got out just in time. I drove to the Visitor Center to check to see if I needed a Wilderness Permit to do the same thing as I did last night….tonight on Brokeoff Mountain. The ranger told me that since they were free I might as well get a permit. After doing my paperwork I suddenly became VERY sleepy. It was only then that I realized that I had only slept about four hours in the past 26 hours. Time to take a nap. I waked out to my car…lowered the seat back…and slept for an entire 60 minutes. I woke up surprised that I had only slept an hour and yet felt so refreshed. Time to hike on. I drove to the Brokeoff Trailhead and readied my gear. My plan was to hike about ¾ of the way to the summit and find a shady tree that I could hopefully sleep the daytime hours away. My plan was to hopefully see the moon rise and sunset before hiking back down to the car and heading home.
Didn’t quit go down like that. I hiked though some amazing wildflowers for about an hour before breaking out into some surprisingly dense forest. I found a perfect spot to nap. Perfect… Laid down for about 30 minutes and just knew it wasn’t gonna happen for me. So, I dawned my pack and headed to the summit to find it empty with the exception of a quite couple over on the edge. I rolled out my tarp…opened my can of Oregon tuna…and enjoyed the view for about two hours. About 2:30 I headed down toward the trail-head and arrived at my car at 4:00. I had a peaceful and uneventful drive home arriving at 6:30. I had just enough time to clean up my gear, order and eat Chinese food…before I passed out for the night.
This was one of the most rejuvenating trips in a long time for me. I left town with feelings of being overwhelmed, stuck, at a loss, confused, frustrated, and sad. I woke up Sunday morning with the feelings of optimism, hope, love, and gratitude.
Life is good. Take a hike.