While visiting Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Vicki and I hiked up to the summit of Paulina Peak, the highest point on the rim of the caldera, and the views were excellent.
We started early that morning at our campsite on Paulina Lake, cooking breakfast before dawn and packing up all of our gear. The sky was clear and it looked like it would be a fine day to climb a volcano. I packed some snack, lunch, and water in the daypack and we drove over to the trailhead.
I have to admit that we were saddened when we got to the road to the trailhead. The gate was locked! This park didn’t really open until the first day of Summer, which was a week or so away. I got out my CalTopo app and checked the map. It was less than a mile to reach the trailhead, with only a couple hundred feet of climbing. After that, the trail itself was two miles long and climbed almost 1500 feet. So it meant at least a five mile hike, round trip. Vicki was not amused. But she also wanted to go, so we bit the bullet and signed on for the extra mileage.
After an uneventful walk on asphalt, we reached the official trailhead and hiked into the forest. This trail was quite a bit steeper, but it was enjoyable at that hour of the morning. The air was cool and there was lovely morning light slanting through the trees. Technically, this was part of the full-circle Crater Rim Trial, so it stayed near the ridgeline as we climbed ever higher. Sadly, the ridge was broad and forested in the beginning, and we didn’t get any views. Suddenly, we came upon a patch of still-melting Winter snow. It was dirty with pine duff, but we took a photo anyway, just for the novelty of it. And then we hiked on.
Eventually, we reached a point where the trail met up with the precipitous cliffs that lined the crater, and then we got some serious views. The sky was hazy looking toward the sun. Up ahead of us was the craggy summit of Paulina Peak. Vicki was a bit disheartened, as it looked further than she expected, but we weren’t about to turn back now. We stopped to take some photos and look out across the caldera at the two big lakes. Beautiful!
After that first viewpoint, the trail left the rim and climbed through shady forest on a north-facing slope. By then, we were already nearing the 7500 foot mark, and the snow patches got larger and thicker. In fact, they were still more icy than slushy at this time of day, and footing grew precarious. This really slowed us down, as did route-finding, because the trail was often underneath the snow. Before long, the snow became almost continuous, and neither one of us was having much fun. This easy two mile hike was threatening to become an all-day adventure!
Eventually, the trail neared the edge of the rim once more, where the sun had melted much of the snow. The going was faster, and the views were better than ever. Now this was more like it! We really felt like we were standing on the rim of a volcano. Vicki was a much happier hiker now.
As we neared the summit, Big Obsidian Flow also came into view. We couldn’t quite see the entire thing, as the peak itself was in the way, but we could see the lakes and the main park road down below. Tiny boats cruised along the surface of the lakes, hoping to get some unwary fish before the big Summer crowds arrived.
Eventually, Vicki’s energy level began to wane. I knew the signs. Partly it was the elevation itself, with its lack of oxygen, and partly it was the total climbed and the distance hiked. I knew that she needed a recharge soon. That was when we came upon yet more snow. Not good. I checked the GPS and noticed that the trail passed very close to the forest road that led to the summit. I bushwhacked over to it and it looked fine. I helped Vicki up the final steep slope and there we were, on the road, with no snow whatsoever. I asked Vicki if she wanted to take a nap. This always helps when she’s whupped. Of course she did, and she lay down on the side of the road. She told me to go visit the summit without her. She was so done with Paulina Peak.
The summit was only a hundred yards away, and I was there in no time at all. I noticed right away that there was a parking lot up there! I realized that if we had delayed this road trip another week or so, we could have driven here like civilized human beings, rather than the crude hiking savages that we truly were. But at least I had the place to myself. I climbed up on the summit block, at 7984 feet elevation, and took many photos and videos. Selfies, too. The view was incredible, and the puffy cumulus clouds were picture-perfect. Totally worth the climb.
I hung out up there for a while, but I knew that I should get back to Vicki. Maybe I could convince her to climb this last bit once her nap was over. It really was worth it. I quietly approached and sat down near her, and got out my Kindle to read for a bit.
Eventually, she woke up, and when I told her how good it was on the summit, she still didn’t care. She was too busy worrying about the snow on the way down. I got out my map and showed her the alternative: We could take the road, but it was at least a mile longer. On the plus side, it probably had very little snow, as it swung around the south and west sides of the peak, not the north. And it was downhill all the way. That was the clincher. We would take the road. We ate a bit of snack to boost our energy, and away we went.
There isn’t much to say about hiking along a tree-lined gravel road. Sometimes there were views and other times just trees. We saw a large plume of smoke to the west, and remembered that the forest service had been burning slash along the road into the park, so there was no wildfire danger. Meanwhile, the weather continued fine, and we didn’t get too hot until we neared the bottom. That’s when we stuck to the shady sections of the road whenever we could find them.
We arrived at the car and sat down inside. It was a relief to be back, to tell the truth. We celebrated with a bit more snack, and then headed out of the park. Naturally, we also headed right into that plume of smoke! Vicki’s lungs were not amused. We put the car’s AC on recirculate and hoped that none would enter as we followed the pilot car through the Prescribed Burn Zone. There were piles of brush burning all around, and plenty of fire crew at work keeping it under control.
After that, we headed north, looking to check out yet another section of Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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