On our way out of Lassen a couple weeks ago we decided to head to a different corner of the park to hike Cinder Cone. While Lassen’s more known areas weren’t crowded on a weekday in September, Butte Lake and Cinder Cone were pretty much deserted. The hike up Cinder Cone wasn’t that long, but the extreme winds and shifting, rocky surface made for an exhausting climb. However, the effort was well worth the views at the top.
The lake in this photo is Snag Lake with Ash Butte to the left of it. As the rays of sunlight moved from the lake to dance over the Painted Dunes the scene was truly spectacular.