The next morning, as we were eating breakfast, two deer walked right behind out tent. They were so close to use, yet seemingly unafraid.

We drove to Subway Cave, an underground lava tube that was formed when the top of a lava flow hardened due to cooling. The inside lava, insulated by the hardened top layer, kept flowing and eventually flowed away completely, leaving a hollow tube.

Inside it was very cold and had low ceilings. Certain parts were called “stub toe” areas where little stalagmites of lava deposits protruded out of the floor. There were also small “mud pots” that had hardened.

We then drove on a long, bumpy, slippery, unpaved road about 15 minutes to the Butte Lake campground area and the trailhead for the Cinder Cone trail. The road was fun to drive on in 4-wheel-drive. Theresa freaked out, and had me drive, but that was fine by me. The road was so bumpy that later that day when we opened the cooler we found an exploded tomato that was spread out all over the cooler.

When we got to the trailhead there was an Indian family there, and the man asked us about the trail. We told him he should bring lots of water, and he asked us to hold on while he got some and if they could go on the trail with us. We thought it was a weird request but we agreed.

So, Indian family in tow, we walked on the soft sandy black ground of the trail toward Cinder Cone, a small volcano. When the cone came into view it was amazing. We were actually stunned by the fact that we would be climbing this steep volcano.

There was a long, sandy, steep trail up the side of the volcano. It is a 700 feet climb with a 30 to 35 degree incline. We lost the Indian family along the way because they were trailing behind.

The ascent was arduous and Theresa barely made it. At the top, you can see Butte Lake, Mount Lassen, the lava beds, and the Painted Dunes (caused by mineral and iron deposits). We walked along the rim of the cone, and took a trail down on the other side, which was the long way back. The base circumference of the cone is a mile, so it took us an extra half mile or so to get back to the point at the base we started at. On the way down, which was lots of fun, we got tons of rocks in our shoes! This trail was so awesome that I took a lot of pictures here.

On the way back to the campsite, we showered (50 cents for 3 minutes) and did our laundry. Ahh, modern conveniences are everywhere!