Going on a trash-fishing mission in a gem-like pool at Bumpass Hell.


















Here's a lovely specimen of the rare "Lassen Volcanic Crater Whale" basking in a thermal vent with a bubbling pool of water with a temperature of at least 153 degrees. My thermometer got that hot and was still climbing when I decided to get away from the edge and back away slowly...




OK, what are the chances of taking an Orca Whale on a day hike through a national park at around 8,000 feet and meeting up with a man wearing a "Whales of the World" T-shirt with the Orca right there on the top left? Incredible coincidence or sign that I was supposed to bum around Drakesbad for a week?









That's Lassen Peak in the background, the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range. Soon I'll be passing below Mt. Shasta. "Flying" Bobcat.












Yak and I gaze excitedly at our quarry, the final AYCE BBQ dinner at Drakesbad. Life was good then. = )