An Exciting New Trail In A Good Old Place: Hiking Ridge Lakes at Lassen Volcanic National Park

Ridge Lake

 

 

 

Date: July 22, 2024
Place: Lassen Volcanic National Park, Mineral, California
Coordinates:
Length: 2.7 miles (including some exploration at the lakes and of Sulphur Works Geothermal Area)
Level: strenuous

 

 

 

It is nearly every year that I visit Lassen Volcanic National Park in this time of year - the later half of July. Often I lead family hiking groups on a multi day trip there that includes camping and daily hikes. I take them hiking on my favorite trails in the park but whenever I am on my own there, I look to hike trails that I haven't hiked before, or at least haven't hiked in a long while. Last summer my group didn't come together on time and I went on my own and hiked the Butte-Snag Lakes loop, up Prospect Peak, and a short backpacking hike to Terrace Lake. This year my group did come along. We had a lovely time together but when the group part ended the families drove home I stayed an extra day to unwind in the best way I know - hiking. On the day they left I hiked up Manzanita Creek, a lovely trail I'd write about later, but on my extra day I hiked another trail, one I wanted to hike for a long time and didn't get the chance until now - the hike to Ridge Lakes. It is a short trail - only 1.1 miles, but it ascends over 1000ft up the steep slope of the volcanic ridge of Mount Diller.

 

 It's been very hot during the days we were in Lassen Volcanic National Park, and my extra day there was about to be the same. I took my time getting ready in the morning and when I started my hike, around 9 am, it was already quite hot.

At the Trailhead

 The ridge Lake Trail begins at the parking lot of the Sulphur Works geothermal area. The trail follows the Sulphur Creek all the way to its headwaters at the Ridge Lakes basin. The trail was flanked by a thicket of mule ears plants that had already done blooming. In between the mule ears were other low shrubs, and some of these were in bloom. 

Great Red Paintbrush, Castilleja miniata

The Ridge Lakes Trail is a continuous slope. From the first step I was on the ascend.  Up ahead between the trees I could see the peak of Mount Diller, looming over the headwaters of Sulphur Creek.

View uphill

 

There was one switchback at the beginning of the trail and then it lined up next to Sulphur Creek, high above the water and the geothermal features of Sulphur Works below. More wildflowers popped up along the trail outside of the mule ears field. 

Naked Buckwheat, Eriogonum nudum

 

I didn't realize it at the time but I would take more wildflower photos on this relatively short trail than I took on the Manzanita Creek trail which was four four times longer, with a similar elevation change. This trail goes through a more diverse environment in a shorter distance. 

Western Water Hemlock, Cicuta douglasii

 

Nearly all the trees I saw along the trail were fir, likely white fir. There were some pine trees as well, but the firs definitely dominated the forest. There were tall and narrow, and didn't cast a whole lot of shade, but they were crowded enough to cast frequent shaded spots on the trail. As the day was growing very hot very fast, I soon found myself hopping from one shaded spot to another. 

Ridge Lakes Trail

 

The trail was fairly close to the edge of the creek's high bank but the creek itself wasn't visible from the trail. To look down into the gully I needed to step off the trail and approach the cliff's edge. Every now and then I saw an opening, clearly used by other hikers to look down into the gully so I used these too. For the most part it was difficult to see the water because it was hidden beneath the thick riparian vegetation.

Sulphur Creek, view upstream

 

Looking downstream however, I had a nice overview of the upper part of the Sulphur Works geothermal area.   

Sulphur Works

 

From where I was I could see clearly one of the fumaroles steaming away from the hillside. I think this particular fumarole isn't visible from the road's observation area.

I was maybe a 100 ft higher than the trailhead but here the mule ears were blooming still. There plants, unlike the lower ones, were in intermittent shade rather than under full sunlight. Perhaps it contributed to their longer bloom season.

Woolly Mule-ears, Wyethia mollis

I kept my eyes open for wildlife as well. Birds were all around me. I mostly heard them rather than saw them. Some were easy enough to identify by their call, the mountain chickadee for example. Eventually, I got to see them too.

Mountain Chickadee

I came to a small clearing that apparently was created by a fallen fir tree. It must have happened a few years ago because the clearing had already a number of young fir saplings, all racing to reach the sunshine and be the first to shade its siblings.

Fir Nursery

I started this hike intending to not hurry. I had a number of excellent reasons too: for one, I didn't want to exert myself. My hip was already hurting from my previous days' strain, and here I was, going on a steep trail again. Another reason was the intense heat. I was merely 20% of the way up and was already soaking in sweat. Then again, there were plenty of wildflowers to see. No reason to hurry and miss any of them.

Dusky Onion, Allium campanulatum

I arrived another place where it was clear that I was expected to step to the edge of the cliff and look down, so I did. Below me run the Sulphur Creek, and next to it was a bubbling pool of light green color. This, I learned later, was the boiling Spring pond.  That was the highest geothermal feature of Sulphur Works. At least, the highest that I saw on the hike.

Boiling Spring

The Ridge Lakes Trail is a continuous slope but its steepness varies. There were parts in the middle where the ascending was less strenuous. I still walked slowly though. The heat was intense and the wildflowers numerous.  Large patches of Monardella, the mountain mint, bloomed by the trail and their sweet fragrance filled the air and this high, it easily surpassed the sulfuric odor emanating from the Sulphur Works geothermal area.

Ridge Lakes Trail

I wasn't the only one enjoying the sweet Monardella smell and its luxurious blossoms. Many butterflies enjoyed the wildflowers spread, and most of all, the Monardella's.

Sulphur Creek was on my right hand side, northeast of the lower half of the trail. There was another little creek on the left to the southwest. I couldn't see the water below all the vegetation, but I could hear it flowing there. The creek banks were adorned by a multitude of tall wildflowers - mainly groundsels and cornlilies, abut I saw also a few tiger lilies, standing out with their bright orange flowers.

I was surprised to see many ferns on the dry part of the trail. They seemed lush and happy though, not like plants that suffer from dehydration and excess heat.

Ridge Lakes Trail

I was also enjoying the less assuming wildflowers. Hawkweed I see frequently on my hikes in the Bay Area as well. Usually I don't photograph it, but it looked very lovely against the dark fallen fir branches.

White Hawkweed, Hieracium albiflorum

Lupines I've seen right from the beginning of the hike. Like the mule ears though, most lupines near the beginning of the trail were already past their peak bloom. Higher up the trail, in the area where they get more shade from the firs, there were fully blooming lupines.

Broad-leaf Lupine, Lupinus latifolius

The trail approached Sulphur Creek for the last time before distancing somewhat and curving westward. I took the opportunity to look down again and this time I had no trouble seeing the creek water flowing below the steep volcanic slopes.  

Sulphur Creek

Back on the trail I noticed a large fallen fir log in advanced stage of decomposition. It wasn't rotting, it was merely falling apart, disintegrating into small, rusty-colored wood chips. 

Far on my left the other creek seemed to have flattened out and the slopes that weren't forested were covered with low riparian vegetation. 

I loved the pattern of the blooming cornlilies, standing like bright white candles through the green grass. Between the cornliles bloomed other brightly colored wildflowers - the yellow groundsels and the bright orange tiger lilies. 

I had to use my strongest zoom settings to take photos of these blooming slopes. They were too far on the other side of the little valley on its edge I was walking. 

Ridge Lakes Trail

More butterflies were active all around me. Every now and then I even managed to capture a photo of one when it paused on a flower and bothered to spread open its wings.  

The heat was still intense but the higher I ascended, the more I enjoyed the light, cooling breeze that moved up the mountain, drying my sweat. The cooling effect was much stronger when I stood in the shade, of course. 

Ridge Lakes Trail

The shaded stretches were longer now, with larger groves of fir near the trail. I noticed that nearly all of the trees had this 'knee' bend at their base, and all of them are bent in the downhill direction. This bend I guess, is caused by the winter accumulation of snow that presses against the trunk of the tree when it's young and contorts it until it is big and strong enough to withstand that pressure. 

The shaded stretches of the trail were getting longer, but so were the exposed stretches, as the trail cut through the lovely oblong meadows that extended up to the upper end of the valley. The sound of knocks caught my attention and I followed it to see a sole Steller's jay beating something on a rock in the meadow. The bird was far enough to not mind me at all as I snapped a few shots before continuing up the trail.

Steller's Jay

I don't normally pay attention to grasses but I did see a lovely looking grass that caught my eye with it delicate bloom fan. As it turned out, it was an invasive species of grass, not a local one. Still, it was pretty. 

Silver Hairgrass, Aira caryophyllea, non-native

The meadow that was on the side of the trail ended, and the vegetation that covered the area clear of trees was more suitable to dryness and short growth season. It comprised mainly of satin lupine, knotweed, and pussypaws. All three species were blooming but their bloom was fairly inconspicuous, visible mostly to bugs rather than to human eyes. 

Ridge Lakes Trail

I noticed a dirty white patch in the shade off the trail. At first glance it looked like an off-looking rock but a second look confirmed this to be an old snow patch. That sure was a cool hello sign from the long gone winter. 

Snow Patch

The trees parted enough for me to get a clear view of Mount Diller up ahead. The trail curved a bit to the left, leaving the protruding peak on the northeast of my path.

Mount Diller

There was a closer ridge on the right side of the trail. That ridge had no name on the map. It looked like it was tapering down into the area where the lakes were located. Soon I would find out.

I was nearing the top of the trail. The lakes must be over the crest and the trail split in two - one to the left and one to the right. I looked at the navigator - the map displayed two lakes up there and I assumed that the two trails would lead to the two lakes separately. I chose to follow the right trail fork, assuming (turned out correctly) that there will be a connecting trail up by the lakes.

The last part of the trail was lined with satin lupine plants which were still working toward their peak bloom.

Satin Lupine, Lupinus obtusilobus

Between the lupines were also many low knotweed shrubs who were at their peak bloom, but whose flowers were tiny and inconspicuous. The knotweed seemed to attract many invertebrate creatures though.

A spider lurking on Davis Knotweed, Aconogonon davisiae

 

 Other than the butterflies, the most common insect type I saw on this hike were the grasshoppers. They were numerous, and very active. They constantly jumped from under my feet as I advanced on the trail and the air was full of their monotonic chirps.

Grasshopper

Right below the edge of the ridge was a small wetland patch fed by a tiny spring that run underground before even crossing the trail. It looked interesting to explore but I was readyto reach the lakes and take a break so I left this exploration for my way down.

I reached the lip of the ridge and behind it was the prettiest lake, nestled calmly in the basin beneath a peak I knew not its name.

It didn't take me too long to establish that the 'lakes' were actually one large lake. I suppose that when the water level drops later in the season this body of water might split in two. For now however, it was just the one Ridge Lake.

I found a comfortably located rock that was already polished by previous hikers' behinds and sat down for a well earned break. While munching on my snack I noticed many butterflies huddling in a flat, muddy patch by the water.

These were all tortoiseshell butterflies - the kind of migratory butterflies I saw at the top of Lassen Peak, Mount Brokeoff, and Mount Shasta. These butterflies love the mountain heights. They were probably sucking up minerals from the mud by the lake.

Tortoiseshell Butterflies

After my break I got back on my feet and started exploring a bit the area of the lake. The first thing I noticed were the lovely violets that bloomed by the path along the lake shore.

Goosefoot Violet, Viola purpurea

At the north end of the lake's basin was a large wetland delta of the creek that fed the lake. It looked lush and fool of yellow wildflowers. I saw a footpath leading in that direction so I moved over there to explore it more closely.

More knotweed lined up the trail on its dryer side and more insects were buzzing over and around this plants' apparently unassuming flowers. It must advertise its goods by means other than looks. Smell perhaps? I couldn't detect any specific odor from the knotweed, though.

A hoverfly visiting Davis Knotweed, Aconogonon davisiae

Tucked at the end of the foot path was an area that looked like it was used by overnight campers. There was no sign of recent camp there, however. In fact, the only human I've seen on the trail so far was a sole hiker that descended from the lake's basin as I neared the ridge's lip, and that hiker wasn't carrying any overnight gear.

The yellow flowers blooming in that wetland delta turned out to be cinquefoil. Rushes were also at their peak bloom there, looking like sofy broom tips swaying in the light breeze.

Fan-foil, Potentilla flabellifolia

 Other yellow flowers blooming there were buttercups, but they were fewer than the cinquefoil. Only one plant here and there. from a distance it was hard to tell them apart.

Plantainleaf Buttercup, Ranunculus alismifolius

 

I looked uphill and for a fleeting moment I contemplated going further up to see what I could find there. The trail however, didn't continue and I didn't feel like I should trample the pretty and pristine wetland area.

I stood there for some time, breathing in the mountain air, then turned around and started going back along the lake shore.

As I made my way towards the south part of the lake I came across another day hiker who had just came up the trail. We nodded at each other and he told me that some distance below the ridge's lip was a deer hanging by the trail. I thanked him but wasn't in any hurry to go down and see the deer. If it was a bear, then maybe ...

Ridge Lakes Trail

On some parts of my ascent I had to walk through patches of thicker vegetation, some of it bore thorny seed pods. These were Jessica's stickseed plants, members of the hound's tongue family which resemble the forget-me-not. I liked their lively light blue color but avoided rubbing against them.

Jessica's Stickseed, Hackelia micrantha

It was better seeing the Jessica's stickseed (who was that Jessica anyway?) not too close to the trail, and better yet, against a background that highlighted the beauty of their colors.

Jessica's Stickseed, Hackelia micrantha

I've also seen the wallflowers all along the trail, but up until I reached the lake, all the wallflowers I;ve seen were past bloom time and well into their seeding stage. Up by the lake though were a few wallflower plants still in bloom.

Western Wallflower, Erysimum capitatum

I reached the southeast edge of the lake. The water there was shallow and had a lovely turquoise color that reminded me that of Lake Helen right below Lassen Peak.

Ridge Lake

I spotted some paintbrush flowers near the south edge of the lake. It was the cobwebby paintbrush that is smaller has a paler blossom than the large, bright red paintbrush species I saw closer to the trailhead.

Cobwebby Paintbrush, Castilleja arachnoidea

A robin flew over and stood by the lake shore among the knotweed plants. Perhaps it came to look for insects to eat but most of its stay there it looked at me. Eventually I got the hint and took his photo, then took off.

American Robin

Reluctant to leave so soon I sat again beneath a large fir tree near the lake and snacked some more.The tree had new growth at the edges of its branches and I loved the contrast created by the two shades of green.

White Fir, Abies concolor

Eventually it was time to go down. I still had a long drive ahead, going back home to the Bay Area. As I got ready to start downhill I was approached from behind by the hiker that came up earlier. I stepped aside and let him pass me - I knew I'd be much slower going down.

For one thing, I still wanted to explore that small wetland area by the small spring below the ridge's lip. Almost immediately I was rewarded by an assortment of tiny wetland flowers such as the willowherb.

Glaucus Willowherb, Epilobium glaberrimum

Most of the flowers I saw blooming in that small wetland area were tiny and required some stooping or kneeling to get a decent photo.

Bog St. John's Wort, Hypericum anagalloides

|Some of the wildflowers were of more reasonable size. Most of these wildflowers I've seen before in other mountain wetland areas but it was lovely to see them here as well.

White Marsh Marigold, Caltha leptosepala

I left the wetland patch with nice photos of the Macloskie's Violet, a flower not easy to photograph. The last time I've seen these was on my backpacking trip with my daughter in the Tahoe area.

Macloskie's Violet, Viola macloskeyi

Facing the downhill slope I also had a nice, broad view of the mountain ahead. The near peak - Diamond Peak, looked the same as it was on my previous visits but beyond it I could see the devastation caused by the Dixie Fire of 2021, which laid so much of the park bare of its majestic forest.

Through a gap in the trees I took an enlarged photo of Diamond Peak and its weird looking 'horns'. There's no trail going up Diamond peak, and I wondered if people ever ascend it.

Diamond Peak

Pussypaws flowers were among the most common wildflowers blooming along that trail. I photographed a few of them here and there but chose to post here a photo that focuses less on the flower and more on the action taking place on top of it.

Mount Hood Pussypaws, Calyptridium umbellatum

I didn't go at a faster pace on my way down but I didn't take as many hydration breaks and didn't take as many photos either, for mist sights I've already seen on the way up. All and all, I was making quicker descent down the trail.

Ridge Lakes Trail

There was one spot where I did pause longer to take more photos. On my way uphill I saw p blooming plant hat I've never seen before. I took many photos of these plants but at the time the patch was in the shade. Now these plants were in direct sunlight and the photos I took on my descent turned out much better.

Fitweed, Corydalis caseana

So were photos of other, more familiar wildflowers that were blooming in that same riparian patch near the creek.

Seep Monkeyflower, Erythranthe gutatta

The more I descended the hotter the air became. Once more I found myself hopping from one shaded spot to another. On my way down I was encountering more and more hikers making their way up the trail. They looked tired and sweaty and I was glad I was done with the uphill part earlier in the day.

A couple of hikers on their way up told me that someone saw a bear near the trail closer to Sulphur Works. I got excited - maybe I'll get to see it too? I kept my eyes open for the chance of seeing a bear. Other hikers had asked me about the boiling pond. That was easy to answer and I pointed them towards the viewpoint where I saw it. I didn't stop there myself for a second look, though.

I slowed down as I got closer to the Sulphur Works area and scanned carefully the surroundings, but I didn't see any bear. I remembered that there was supposed to be a deer too somewhere near the trail, but I didn't see any deer either.

Where is the bear?

I had a nice clear view of Sulphur Works, though, and of the steaming fumarole. It wasn't long now before my hike would end so I did the most logical thing and stopped to take a longer look at the view I would soon leave, and inhale the sulfuric odor that rose with the geothermal fumes. 

Sulphur Works

I resumed descending, walking slowly down the path I didn't want to end, taking more photos of wildflowers I already photographed on my way up (and getting better images now), and telling myself I was still looking for bears. 

Scarlet Gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata

Just before reaching the trailhead I turned and looked uphill. There wasn't any bear there, but the view was spectacular. 

Ridge Lakes Trail

I decided to swing by the Sulphur Works observation area. Although I've seen it many times, I thought it would be nice to include some photos of the geothermal features here in this blog post. 

The bubbling mud spring that's right by the road is probably the most visible and accessible feature of this geothermal area. Over the years I've seen it more or less active. This was one of its more active days and it was bubbling strongly. 

Bubbling mud spring

Sulphur Works is one of the few geothermal areas in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It isn't the largest or the most impressive of them - those would be Bumpass Hell and the Devil's Kitchen, but it is the easiest to see, being right there by the park's main road. One think I do like about Sulphur Works is its colorfulness. 

Sulphur Works

I recently posted a series of blogposts about my hikes in Yellowstone National Park. The geothermal features of Lassen Volcanic National Park are no match to the Yellowstone ones, in scale or activity. But these geothermal features are only one aspect of Lassen Volcanic NP. This park is so heterogenous in structure, nature, and volcanic activity and features that although smaller and less celebrated, I find it no less fascinating than Yellowstone, if not more. One great advantage of not being as popular as Yellowstone is that Lassen Park is much less crowded. 

Sulphur Works

I finished my hike and the extra bit of seeing Sulphur Works for the umpf time and drove away to Khom-Ya-Ma-Nee visitor center where I wanted to stop for lunch before starting my long drive home. As I prepared to pull into the parking lot I finally saw the promised deer crossing the road. 

Black-tailed Deer

There is another hike from this trip to Lassen, possibly two, that I would write about later on. After this entry though, I'll probably try to catch up with the rest of my 2024 hikes up to date. I wanted to get this one out first though, while my memories and my excitement are still fresh. I cannot wait for my next visit to my favorite national park in California!