Lake Durbin- Bunchgrass Trail Head- Thousand Lakes Wilderness- Lassen Volcanic National Park

May 2015. This was a 8 mile, 4mile one-way out and back hike to Lake Durbin in the Thousand Lakes Wilderness. It was an adventure just getting to the trailhead, but if you want isolation and the wilderness for yourself, this is the place. We did not run in to or see one person after turning off the highway. The road is somewhat rough, potholes, and chunky rocks to fill the road. You could do this with a 2 wheel drive car, although I was happy to have all wheel drive. There are some roads that criss cross your route, but if you follow the directions (coming soon), you will eventually see a sign indicating the trailhead.

The starting point of the trailhead was around 5,000 ft. and rose to about 7,000 ft. In general, relatively flat, no snow anywhere, and easy hike. The trail was clear, wide, and apparently made for horses to travel on so the actual hike was relatively easy. The landscape was sparse to moderate pine and various shrubs with volcanic rock throughout, with a high sierra feel. The trail was easy to follow, had some great views of Mt. Lassen and various other peaks in the area. There were a good amount of fell trees over the trail. The trail took us right to Durbin Lake. We found a few camp sites around the lake and chose one with a great view of the lake, although more exposed than the other we found. There are large and well protected camp fire rings. There is a clear trail leading, I assume, to more lakes, but we were content posting up at Durbin and enjoying the weather, isolation, and scenery. No animal encounters outside of a wide variety of birds including hawks, woodpeckers, and some kind of duck. Fish were present but unfortunately forgot the fishing pole. The hike out was even easier and faster and probably took a little less than two hours to get back out.