The trailhead is at an interesting location, with a slight turnout on the left hand side when heading to the Manzanita Campground. It looks like a random pull-out section and when I finished my hike, some cars passed by wondering what I was doing at such an odd location. (There is a sign confirming that it is the trailhead.)
The trail is relatively flat in the beginning. After a few minutes, the sounds of a babbling brook breaks the silence, as the water rushes downstream to Manzanita Lake. And I also noticed this guy heading to the brook. It probably saw me first and was wondering what I was doing in its territory.
Lassen can be hot during the day and Chaos Crags provides a nice relief to the heat as it’s mostly shaded. Surprisingly, there are a lot of dead trees and chopped trees around, adding to the slight eeriness. Even though I started the hike in the afternoon, the shadows loomed large and added to the spookiness of the trail. There are also a couple of plank crossings, which I’m sure are more useful earlier in the year after the snowmelt. There’s also no one on this trail despite the higher crowd levels at nearby Manzanita Lake.
The rocks are noticeably pink (not enhanced by my camera or Photoshop) and are known as dacite. So cool, eh?
As I made my way back to the first set of ‘random’ rocks, I came across this stunning view as the sun was now making its way toward the horizon.
Chaos Crags and Crags Lake
Length: 4.0 miles RT
Danger: some high winds and a very rare chance of a rock tumble
Happy travels!
Cat
