Lassen NP with Sierra Club ICO

I volunteered to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park for my first overnight trip with the Sacramento Sierra Club Inner City Outings. Using concept of "get 'em while they're young," ICO is a good opportunity to teach kids to appreciate and enjoy the environment. Too many kids stay at home watching TV playing video games, or browsing the web. If kids don't value the natural world, there won't be anyone left to protect it. As you can tell from all the smiles these kids learned the joy playing in the outdoors can bring.

Driving with kids is always an adventure, especially so on long drives like the one to Lassen. The key thing is to keep them entertained, or try and put them to sleep. We had some games and candy for the entertainment part and unfortunately the books-on-tape worked for the latter. When we arrived in Lassen we headed to the visitor's center and met a ranger who gave an impromtu talk about Leave No Trace and environmental stewardship. The ranger did a great job of keeping their attention and getting the points across. After a quick hike on the Lily Pond interpretive trail, we helped the kids set up their camp for the next two days.

With the extremely long summer days we had lots of time before sunset. We taught the kids that bugs like to hide in rotting wood, thus commencing the bug hunt. The area around the campground doesn't quite look the same as it did before, but I think the kids learned that there are living things hiding within the seemingly dead. Not sure how this lesson goes along with the keeping things the way you found them...

On Saturday, we took the kids on a short hike to Bumpass Hell. Many of the kids were afraid of hiking on the trail as it was their first time hiking on steep unpaved surfaces. At first timid and scared, the kids quickly gained confidence on the rocky and slippery trails. Many kids proudly exclaimed that they're not afraid anymore. We didn't get a chance to get up close and personal with the hot springs of Bumpass Hell. Because of the smoke from the crazy wildfires in CA, we decided to head back after getting to the overlook. On the hike back we stopped at a nearby snowfield where some of the kids had their first experience with snow. I tried to get some pictures of the kids, but they were attacking me with snowballs. I guess they don't understand the concept of "press pass." On the drive back to camp we made a quick stop to Sulfur Works to view the mudpots and geothermal activity, and much to the kids excitement another stop at Summit Lake North for some swimming.

During the summer there is a parks project to count the returning migrating birds. The kids had a chance to learn about bird migration patterns and tracking. One of the most exciting things the kids got to do was release the birds that were caught. Their faces were full of amazement as the birds flew out of their hands. Unfortunately this was the last activity we had planned for the kids. As we left the kids lamented our return to civilization.