Beating the heat with some cool friends!

Jake and his friends at the top of Cinder Cone

Recently, I was fortunate enough to have some great friends from college fly out, visit, and explore northern California. I’ve never driven so much in a week’s time, but we went to some really neat places and it was all worth it!

Our first outing was making the classic rounds of waterfalls and hiking around Lassen. While Burney Falls is always a great stop, but going off the beaten path to Potem Falls is what really took the cake. It was especially nice having the whole place to ourselves to relax and explore.

After some refreshing dips in the cold waterfall waters, we hiked to the top of Cinder Cone in Lassen. Man, was that a rough, yet, awesome hike! Hiking on those cinders was like taking two steps forward, one step back, but the views up top were definitely rewarding.

Our next big adventure was to the lava fields and tubes of Lava Beds National Monument. I am so glad we made the trek up there. I really enjoyed hiking up to a lookout station and learning more about how rangers spot and track fires. Also, getting to climb through caves covered in glitter-like bacteria, ice floors, and almost getting lost was definitely an experience! I need to remember to bring better flashlights next time…

After some hiking at Whiskeytown and spending time in San Francisco, it was unfortunately time for them to go. It is always a good time to hang out with old friends and I’m so glad they made it out here!

Definitely looking ahead to more adventures like this one!

Until next time,
Jake