8 miles of hiking • 2000' elevation gain • 1 night
Lavapalooza, Day Two! Enjoyed another glorious sunrise at Scott Lake, followed by a trek along the PCT following 1500-year old lava flows to their source. First detour was a short 0.2 mile spur to Little Belknap Crater, enjoying a few lava tubes and generally insane topography along the way. Then we left the main lava flow and climbed what amounted to an 800' tall sand dune! We all felt it reminiscent of Cape Kiwanda, actually. Other than being surrounded by lava and volcanoes, of course.
On top of Belknap Crater, proper, we could finally see the actual crater - it was huge! The weather couldn't be beat, so we just enjoyed a long, leisurely lunch on top, before exploring some more. Coming down was far easier than going up (which was "two steps forward, one step back" much of the way!). Finished the day back at Scott Lake, with a quick swim, fantastic dinner, and light show over the Sisters.
Quite the life...! :-)
