Day 53, Sunday , August 7

Yesterday I decided that today’s hike would be Lassen Peak. I was told by one of the rangers that I could expect to see millions of butterflies up at the top of the peak. The trail starts at about 8000 feet and winds its way up the side of the mountain to an eventual height of 10,500 feet. The trail requires some stamina but is definitely not difficult until you get to the saddle near the top of the mountain. Up there is a smaller section of trail that takes you true peak of the mountain but you have to clamber over loose rocks to get there. The top of the mountain is definitely worth the climb. When I was there the atmosphere was incredibly clear and I could see Mt Shasta as though it were just a few miles away rather than the 80 miles it actually is. Also, the park ranger was right. There were literally millions of little butterflies flitting all around the top of the mountain above tree line. I’m sure I’ve never seen that many butterflies in one place before.
When I got down from Lassen Peak I decided to put a few more miles on the motorcycle within the park taking pictures. Good thing I did too! Twice within 30 minutes I had people stop to talk to me in parking lots (people also seeing the park on motorcycles) and both times I came away with invitations to “make sure you look us up if you’re ever in this town”. Mike Medin from Paradise, CA and Dan & Cheryl Diener in Jordan, UT.
If anybody had suggested to me before I got started how generous people would be to me on this trip, I’d probably have laughed and said they were out of their minds. This trip continues to exceed by FAR any expectations I had of it!