Celestial Painted Dunes

USA/Lassen National Park By Derrick Kelly

What an extraordinary experience this was. We camped out at Butte Lake campground, arriving Friday evening. We quickly setup camp and then completed the short hike thirty minute hike out to the cinder cone. The hike up the cinder cone was also short - a fraction of the hike out to the cone itself, but is very steep. Starting out at about 6400ft, the final elevation is about 6800ft. It's at least a 30 minute slog up the hill if you are fit and middle aged. But the views from the top are spectacular. As the sun breaks through heavy cloud it illumunates the painted dunes in stunning light. Being our first time here we struggled with composition in the few minutes of amazing light. After the sun dipped away out of sight, the painted dunes took on completely different feel, in the soft blue light of dusk. Over the remaining 1.5 days we made it up for one more sunset, where we were hit by an unusual early summer snowstorm, and a sunrise, we we experienced a cloud inversion layer over the lake and lava beds and heavy fog and mist over the dunes. It was stunning.