I awoke at the boundary of Lassen Volcanic National Park. About 4 miles inside the park is the Drakesbad Guest Ranch. It’s like many other resorts on trail, lots of cabins, horses, and most importantly, a restaurant. I woke up at my normal time and started packing. Breakfast didn’t start until 8:10 am and it wouldn’t take me 2 hours to hike 4 miles, but I wanted to do a little side trip. About a mile from our camp was the Terminal Geyser. Not really a geyser, but a steam vent.
The geyser is one of many hydrothermal features in the park. There were lots of warning signs about not getting too close. I got close enough to see the boiling water and I went downstream to feel the water. It was HOT even though I was pretty far away from the heat source. Not far from the “geyser” was Boiling Springs Lake. A hot lake where I found a deer that was very unconcerned with me.
I planned my short side trip perfectly and got to Drakesbad Guest Ranch at 8:10 and went inside to eat. They told us to come back at 8:30, when their regular guests were done. This sounds more discriminatory than it really was. Normally, only guests of the ranch can eat there. They have a special hiker rate for PCT hikers where they give us the leftovers from their normal guest breakfast. (It’s a buffet)
At 8:30 we went back to the restaurant and they had us sit outside. We went up to the breakfast bar and had lots of great food. Then they brought us French toast and sausage. Honestly( it’s one of the best breakfasts I’ve had on trail and it was only about $10.
For lunch we stopped at Lower Twin Lake. Legs, a guy I just met last night, had to find a hole in his air mattress. He floated out on the lake and looked for bubbles.
The rest of the national park was actually kinda boring. There was a large burn area that we hiked through. It was very flat and there wasn’t much water. Eventually, we made it to the boundary of the park and it was okay for us to camp without a bear can again.
Our goal wasn’t the edge of the park. Our goal was a little town called Old Station. They have a diner and gas station just off the PCT. The gas station lets you camp in the trees behind it. We hiked as fast as we could and made it in around 8. It was after the diner closed, but the gas station was still open. It’s the nicest “camp behind our building” place on the whole PCT so far.
They also have…
In the morning we’ll grab breakfast at JJ’s Cafe before hiking out. Guess what’s in 30 more miles! Another guest ranch. We probably won’t make it for dinner, but 3 town breakfasts in a row sounds pretty fantastic.