Hay Meadows

Beauty Lake

Wow! that 5.5 miles was MUCH harder than I had anticipated. The trail was called, "Hay Meadows", but in actuality it should have been called, "Hay HILLS".  I should have looked more closely at my topo map... The pups and I took all the western forks in the trail and ended our day at Evelyn Lake and found the geocache we were looking for.

Evelyn Lake

The trail itself wasn't all that spectacular. It was basically just cut line through the middle of the forest. The lakes were the highlight of the hike, for sure. We went past 2 actual lakes and I took a breather and let the dogs go swimming. After we found the cache we cooled our feet in Evelyn Lake for a bit before we hit the dusty trail back.



A nice place to take a break

The mosquitos were INSANE! I used Repel Lemon and Eucylptus repelent (DEET free formula) and I was thankful that it worked so well! 

Lava Beds National Monument

Such an incredible, secluded National Monument. Located way up in the North East corner of California, Lava Beds National Monument has an incredible variety of lava tubes that one can explore and get in touch with their adventurous side. I took such a trip yesterday with my Dad and we had a great time. We visited, and recommend to explorers of all ages, the following caves: Mushpot, Sentential, Skull, Valentine.


Valentine was by far the largest cave we explored. It had pillars in the middle of the room and you had to choose Left or Right.The floor was a bit uneven causing me to trip a time or two.

Valentine Cave. Which path would you choose?

 Sentential being the longest, was the most fun. I scaled the lava wall and found an adjacent tube. I slithered like a snake, then crawled on my hands and knees, and hit my head a couple times, then came out to this large lava balcony that overlooked a chamber and I could watch little lights walk under me. It was an amazing feeling.

Coming out of the dark

Lava tube crossing with natural sky light.

If you visit this hardly known natural wonder, be sure to be prepared! It is the desert after all. Bring extra water, extra flash lights, and wear proper shoes. And unfortunately, Fido will have to stay home on this adventure.



The small lava tube I crawled through.

'Tis the season for hiking!

So, I know it's been awhile since I posted anything, but with all the great weather we've been having I've been spending my time hiking. We've done some great trails lately; Upper Bidwell Park, Susanville ranch Park. and Heart Attack Hill (it lived up to its name!) I'll post some pictures with a quick synopsis of the hikes in this blog.

 This hike was just around the Lake Almanor shore, my own backyard. It was a beautiful but chilly day. We hiked about 3 miles that day and saw some amazing snow capped mountains. The girls thought it would be a good idea to swim in the very cold lake, but everyone is just fine. :-)

Here we are posing for a picture nearing the end of our hike around the Lake Almanor shoreline.

Here went for a nice stroll in the Susanville Ranch Park. About 4 miles that day. Nothing too tough, just more leisurely and fun.

The girls putting it into 4-paw drive for the steep climbs Upper Bidwell had to offer. About 5 miles that day.









Gotta stay hydrated!

 Group shot in Upper Bidwell. GREAT hike, amazing views.

And, Heart Attack Hill, our most recent hike. Here is a clip of what it's like to be on a desent with me. About 4-5 miles that day. The map is also of Heart Attack Hill.

Caching in January in the mountains?

I like my adventures on the rocks!

You better belive it! This winter has been the driest on record since the 1880's! So I'm taking ever advantage of the wonderful weather before the white stuff flies, then it'll be time for a whole different set of fun! 

A rare snowless January day near Lassen Peak

We went caching just about every day this last week... and we didn't just do the quick park-n-grabs in the City, we busted out the topo maps and headed out deep into the depths of our local mountain ranges. We started off up County Road A-10 (know to the locals as "The 10 Road" and got some amazing views of Lassen Peak with just a minimal amount of snow dusting. We snagged a couple caches that we've been itching to get to all Summer. Mud was our greatest obstical of the day. Tons and tons of thick mountain mud.

Lake Almanor

Later in the week he headed South on HWY89 to a little Forest Service road that winded around to 6,000+ feet and we ran into a very minimal amount of snow. We had some pretty darn good views looking North to Lake Almanor and Dyer Mountain.
We found a few more caches and created a (get ready for this) DUST trail on our way to the old town of Seneca. We came across a quick moving section of the North Fork Feather River on a very beautiful day. The Water was crisp and very cold, about the only thing up in these mountains that resembled what Winter really was.

Near the Ghost Town of Seneca