Lassen Decompression

cinder cone, originally uploaded by jennifer noland.

The trip to Mt. Lassen was great. That said we encountered so much that caused us to rethink our expectations and chosen path.

It was beautiful when we arrived, but by the time we got into bed it had become cold. The sprinkles began sometime in the night. By the time we woke up the cold had settled and the wet weather decided to stay. We persevered and went on our hikes anyway. Cinder Cone was crazy. A mile and a half of black sand out to the base and then sand and pebbles all the way up. One step forward and two steps back. It's a wonder anyone made it at all. It hailed most of the hike back. We returned to camp to puddles, rain and some sleet. One of the parents took all of the wet sleeping bags to the laundromat.

The next day cleared up and was beautiful, but cold. Hiked to Bumpass Hell, played Capture the Flag, and then dealt with a broken arm. The ranger/paramedic came and splinted her arm, then a parent drove her to the ER in Redding. The rest of the kids had s'mores and we tried to bring back some normalcy to the trip.



The next morning we packed up, had a picnic at a lake and headed home. Forgot to mention it was 28 degrees that morning. All in all, a very successful trip. And as the teacher put it last night in our parent meeting, it is a good start for the coming year, a year that will be filled with the change of puberty. We have an idea of what we're in for, but in the end we need to stay open for all possibilities, because really, who knows what's coming for sure?