6.20 Brokeoff Peak, Lassen Volcanic Park
Mt. Lassen and painted dunes from Brokeoff Peak--fascinated by this scene Where'd you leave your horse, Pardner? Brokeoff Peak. Feeling lucky to be here, fortunate to enjoy all of it. Just when we thought Lassen couldn’t get any better, it did. The thought of a drive across the entire park to reach the trailhead did not get us excited. However, after completing the journey, we were embarrassed that we had felt that way. Perhaps we were still smarting from the closure of the Lassen Peak Trail. The park has a serenity and beauty that is indescribable—it is a place of magnificent contrasts, too. In parts, one feels one is visiting paradise as a certain mystique presents itself. Looking down into the valley, from the peak, at those painted dunes Brokeoff Trail is some seven miles long with an elevation gain of 2600 feet, in half that distance. The climb is in fact 600 feet greater than Lassen Peak rising into the 9,000’s. The trail begins in the forest, winds around and heads...