Our last day in the Shasta/Lassen area, and it was a big one! We started the day bright and early with the car packed with every possible clothing and food item we could need. Our first stop was McCloud Falls — a three tiered waterfall fed by melting snow. We saw the lower falls first and took a few photos and then headed to the middle falls where we would spend most of our time. The hike down to the base of the falls was a pretty decent walk and the last bit was actually just bouldering over rocks. We did our best to always have three points touching and sometimes even had to sit and scoot. But, the waterfall was much bigger than anticipated and gorgeous! We found a comfy rock and ate our peanut butter and banana sandwiches before stripping down to our suits and getting up the courage to jump in.
I had seen some people jump from a rock and knew the water was really cold, so I wanted to do that so I couldn’t back out. Kaia didn’t want to get her hair wet, so she was going to float in from the side. She did a count down for us and then we both went in. The water temp was a SHOCK. It was much much colder than the Nantahala River! This was snow-melt water and it almost instantly made my skin burn. There was no staying in and floating…. All I wanted was to get out immediately! Once back in the sun, we heated up again and each took a turn going in once more to swim closer to the falls for some photos. Even then it felt like my whole body was burning from the cold and I genuinely worried about whether this was healthy.
We then dried off and soaked in the sun a bit before scrambling our way back up the boulders and changing into dry clothes in the car. A few snacks and a few miles down the road we arrived at our next waterfall — Burney Falls. This one cost $10 to enter the park and it was immediately a much larger operation. There were pioneer buildings, a huge general store with souvenirs and food, bathrooms, etc. We shopped a bit and then headed down the path to the falls. I don’t think either one of us was prepared for how large these falls would be. They were huge! And so pretty! We took way too many photos and videos because each time we kept walking the view just kept getting better and better!
Once we had stared at the waterfall for enough time, we kept going down the same road to the Subway Lava Tube hike. This was a short hike through a lava tube that had really cool informative signs along the way. We each had our jackets and I had a flashlight to help us navigate. It was really cool and reminded me a lot of the one I saw in Hawaii with Owen (which makes sense because lava tubes probably don’t have too much variety!) I loved the signage in this one because it really helped us notice little things like cracks in the floor. Instead of climbing out the other end and walking in the hot sun back, we turned around and walked back through the cool lava tube.
Next up was returning to Lassen Volcanic National Park. By this time we were only 15 miles from the entrance, so we definitely wanted to head back in and buy a t-shirt and maybe do a hike or two that we hadn’t done. Kaia’s belly was a little upset from the protein shake we had earlier and mine wasn’t super happy either, so we really kind of laid low. We did a short hike to Summit Lake, enjoyed a picnic dinner, and then spent time in the alpine meadow beneath Lassen Peak. It was really pretty!
We drove home (saw lots of deer again) and just chilled. Tomorrow we check out but we are too tired to pack or organize tonight. It was a really packed day!