The Right Approach
[ Day 9 – June 21, 2012 ]
The climb into Lassen was strenuous but manageable, involving approximately 4,000 feet of climbing spread out over 44 miles. I was surprised by the park’s beauty as well as its distinct visual character, a product of geology altogether different from that of the Sierras to the south.
I reached the campground at Manzanita Lake with plenty of daylight to spare. Showered, fed, and settled in, I thought a bit about the purpose behind my trip. There were things that I wanted to examine—questions that I hoped time and distance would answer. I found comfort in a quote from Carl Sandburg:
It’s necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself, ‘Who am I? Where have I been? Where am I going?’
This trip offered plenty of rocks, or as was more often the case, a saddle that felt like a rock. There would be no brilliant insights that evening, but I was content to keep asking the questions.
[ Daily Miles: 44 ] [ Total Miles: 468 ]