Fifty Miler Memories, Part 2: Lassen Volcanic National ParkIn 1994 or 1995 or something like that, when I was an early teenager, I went on my second and final 50 mile hike Boy Scouts trip. I did not get lost overnight on this one. The most memorable part of this one was the hike up the Cinder Cone, an aerial view of which is above.
I was still too young and dumb to appreciate properly the scenery. Above you can see Mount Lassen off in the distance. It erupted in 1915 to some great carnage, I believe. I was also still closer to a pudgy elementary school kid than to a big high school athlete, so I bemoaned the all day week-long hiking.

This "ramp" is the start of the unique hike up the Cinder Cone. The top of this volcano, this pile of leftover ash, is 700 feet higher than the surrounding ground. There is some debate as to when it was created, I think they established it was around 1635.

The trail winds up pretty steep, the biggest challenge to the hike is that you are stepping on volcanic ash, basically, and you slide down about 6 inches for every foot you step forward. It is challenging but short and worthwhile.

The above picture shows what it looks like when you look sideways halfway up the hike.

Above, an aerial shot. Below, 2 random unknown kids- the key is, that is what it looks like when you get on top and look down inside the volcano. We went all the way down into the middle of it.