Sunday was our one full day to spend in the park and it seemed to us like a longer hike was in order. Beginning from our campsite at Summit Lake South, we made the 11 mile lake loop hike.
The trail started off with quite a steep elevation gain, eventually leveling off and providing great views of Lassen peak, before dropping down to Echo Lake, the whole while passing through amazing forests of pine and fir. Next were two of the larger lakes, Upper & Lower Twin Lakes. It was amazing to see the differences of the lake shores and lakes themselves. Some Were surrounded by vegetation, others by volcanic beaches of sand and basalt. Some of the lakes were shallow and crystal clear, while others were murky.
After a sandwich at Silver Lake, roughly the half way mark, we saw our only wildlife of particular note. A mink ran across a downed log right off the trail and bobbed his head out a few times before darting off. Naturally I did not have time to get a good picture of him. There were a lot of birds and squirrels to see but the mink was definitely the sighting of the day.
Following this, we passed Big and Little Bear Lakes and the trail headed upwards for a good distance, eventually leveling off again, and providing great views of Lassen Peak. We were back in camp by early afternoon, and after going on a brief mission to find fire wood for the evening, were back in camp with time to relax before dinner.
If you're looking for a more lengthy hike, and enjoy being in forests and looking at lakes you'll probably enjoy your time spent on this hike.
Until the next adventure...
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