Day 27. To Chester, CA

Thursday, 4th September

Today was a milestone on the trip as, for the first time, we turn our trusty bikes Eastward. And so begins the journey home. Another spectacular day of weather and we both struggled a bit with the sun in our eyes for the first part of the morning. Our route took us East across Northern California into the Trinity Alps Wilderness. We had a lovely cup of coffee here:

An idyllic spot on the banks of the Trinity River

Our route (299) gave us an incredible ride along ridges and valleys, lots of sweeping turns and tight twisty bends. Temperatures started out this morning at a cool 55 and by the time we reached the town of Redding at noon it was 92! A quick stop for gas and we were back on the road. This time Route 44 headed for Lassen Volcanic National Park. Once again we find ourselves in the midst of volcanic formations and activity. Once in the Park we stopped for our picnic at Summit Lake as recommended by the Ranger at the entrance gate - it did not disappoint:

 We had an optimistic onlooker for most of the time

After lunch we began climbing up the rim of the volcano remnant. We reached an elevation of 8500ft,  just at the tree line.

 This is Lassen Peak (elev 10,451 ft).

The last eruption here was only 100 years ago and there is still quite a bit of activity at this spot:

 Steam from a fumarole

 Bubbling mud pot

Sulphur deposits

As the afternoon was wearing on we left the Park having really enjoyed the ride through. After a few more miles we pulled into the small town of Chester where we will be spending the night before heading to Lake Tahoe tomorrow.