McArthur Burney (2)

Traveling is about more than just seeing the sights and doing the activities. If you are out in the world having an adventure, you will learn many things along the way. Some things you will learn will be about geology, or history, or local flavor. But if you are pushing your own envelope of comfort and familiarity, you will also learn things about yourself. If you are traveling with adventure partners, you will learn about your relationships too. We always learn more about ourselves during these grand summer trips. We have also gotten pretty good at talking through the things that didn’t go as expected to figure out what broke down, either figuratively or literally. For this particular stay, I would say we learned a couple of important things to note for future planning. Richard learned he really does not like water, kind of in any form except to drink it. He hates rain passionately, and doesn’t like to get in lakes or oceans or rivers unless he can wash off afterwards. Swimming pools work for him only because he can shower after. This came up at this stop because it was hot and the thing to do here, besides see the waterfall, is to get in the lake. We already knew I am a helper, but we learned that one of the ways I try to help is by urging him into the water, because that is something I like to do. So that kind of broke down and we had to figure all of that out.

I want to avoid putting a negative spin on this park because I think if you are a person who likes water, it’s a great place to come. We have bailed on reservations here more than once, primarily because it is at a low elevation at just under 3,000’ and tends to get really hot. Also, if there are fires around, smoke tends to settle in this valley. With no hookups, and therefore no AC, it can be a challenge in the summer. But we did not bail this time and temperatures got into the low 90s every day. I think we did pretty well for the most part at finding things to do, but I also think three days was at least one day too many.

The primary attraction of this park is Burney Falls. And let me be clear, this is probably the most stunningly beautiful waterfall I have ever seen. Yes, you can spend a lot of time just staring at the falls. It also has the benefit of being at least ten, maybe twenty, degrees cooler at the base. There is an accessible trail that brings you to the bottom and you can feel the air suddenly cool about half way down. The water cascades over the top in two main chutes, but that is not the unique aspect of this falls. Because this whole area is volcanic, the land is made up of permeable rock. Just under the soil level are layers of basalt and river deposited cinder. In the borders between these layers and the lower layer of impervious rock, mud, and lava flow, water passes. The river that feeds the falls all but disappears upstream, but water rushes invisibly under the surface year round. When it reaches the chasm at the falls, the tiny channels create an uncountable number of individual streams. The visual effect of all of these chutes combining in one place is simply breathtaking. The natural beauty of Burney Falls cannot be adequately described and it is well worth at least a day trip to experience this wonder in person. 

In fact, when we first arrived at the park, around noon on a Saturday, there was a line of cars trying to get in via day use that extended back onto highway 89. We were almost at the kiosk when they announced the park was full to capacity and people were going to be turned away. With a camping reservation, we were not permitted to enter before 2pm, so we too were turned around. We decided to make good use of the time by going to the Safeway in the town of Burney, about ten miles away. We got to provision up for another week and I got to blog with good cell service. The restocking, by the way, was in part timed to follow going through an agriculture inspection station after we left Lava Beds. Going in and out of California, you need to think about when to buy things like citrus and stone fruits. While I was blogging, Richard checked out a rails to trail bike path called the Great Shasta Rail Trail. He said it was mostly a dirt trail and not worth having me try with him. But it gave him something to explore. By the time we were done, it was around 4pm and there was no line and no problem getting in the park.

After setting up, we walked over to see the falls and I was blown away, even though I’d seen it before. It was so serene and lovely, and we followed a trail to get us down to the lake. Another thing we learned is that my threshold for getting my boat out is about 90 degrees. When it is that hot, I will be adequately motivated to get it out of the roof box and set it up. I planned to spend the next day boating in the afternoon, so I gave everything a good inspection and test inflation before bed.

Before the heat of the following day, we checked out the Visitor Center and campground store. They both had lovely air conditioning and the store had a fun variety of gifts and food, plus extra points for having soft serve. Richard had one to start the day, but I waited for mine until the afternoon. The Visitor Center is small but very nice. It has good models and information about the falls, plus lots of displays about the local fish. I guess fishing is also a big draw for this place. Too bad we don’t fish.

We hiked the Falls Loop trail, which can either be a short loop, or a three mile loop, depending on which bridge you cross. We did the longer version, which put us on a tiny section of the Pacific Crest Trail. We saw many through hikers gathered in Burney and at the store inside the park, so this is clearly a good restocking stop for the backpackers. We passed by a small campground along the trail with a vault toilet and what looked like a stable. Do people horseback ride the PCT? We also wondered if people could take dogs with them on the PCT. We saw a little fox running through the campground, but it was too far away to get a good picture.

After crossing the upper bridge, we could see that the river feeding the falls had disappeared below the surface of volcanic rock. Just a little way downstream, we came to the labeled Headwaters Pond. Here is where the underground water pushes up enough to become visible. It seemed to be a gathering spot for turtles and we counted at least four of them in the water. Further down the trail, we happened upon a small stone building that piqued our curiosity. Apparently, it is an old pump house that is no longer in use. 

As the afternoon warmed up, it was time for AC and soft serve in the store. We chilled for a while in our Nemo chairs, periodically moving to avoid any dappled sunlight. Then I got my energy up to get my boat on the lake. I noted that one of the reasons I whine about setting up my boat is probably because I only ever do it when it’s really hot. Thus, I associate the set up process with sweat, and a paired sense of mild dread. In reality, it doesn’t take that long, and once I’m on the water, the cool breeze coming off the lake always feels refreshing. I saw herons, Ospreys, and a Bald Eagle soaring around. No otters this time. Richard meanwhile rode around and found out about a loop road that goes around the lake. That became one of our plans for the next day.

Monday was our third and most challenging day of the stay. We were flummoxed on what to do to get out of the afternoon heat, pondering things like driving to other areas since at least the car would have AC. Before that though, we had an errand to run in Burney and biked over there to pick up two items that Richard sent general delivery. He also had found the best rated tacos in Burney, located in a taco truck by the Safeway. While enjoying carnitas and chicken street tacos, we decided we could try doing the loop around the lake. That’s a nice road, which crosses a dam very closed to semi trucks. As such, there was very little through traffic, far preferable to riding highway 89 with all the logging trucks.

The plan to drive to Subway Cave lava tube gave way to lounging in Nemo chairs because it wasn’t actually all that hot. Plus, there was a nice wind that cooled things off. All that was left to do was make dinner. We brought out our camping stove for this stay, which keeps any heat out of Dory. Richard has upped the frozen Bertoli game by cooking up some fresh mushrooms in the pan first. Those have been really good. I upped my grilled cheese game by not putting the griddle in the grill until a few minutes before I’m ready to put the sandwiches on. If I have the griddle in there while I’m cooking something else, like in this case a bell pepper in balsamic vinegar, it will get too hot. Then the bread burns before the cheese gets melty. This time was perfect, with fig spread to compliment the balsamic pepper, all served with a pear and romaine salad. The next night I made Za’atar spiced chicken with tomato and cucumber couscous, topped with candied walnuts, sour cream, and fresh mint. Delish.

All in all, I am not sure I would book this park for more than a day, two max. For us, the downsides of no hookups and very little cell service require more upsides than water sports. We basically entertain ourselves with hiking and biking, or museums. Long drives are not a big draw, but can be worth it depending on the destination. We learned that driving about an hour to get to another waterfall and a place to get in a river is not a good sell for Richard. Maybe driving an hour to a lava tube cave would have been worth it. If there hadn’t been lots of shade in the campground, all things would have been harder. And you have to give this park lots of points, just for the falls and soft serve alone. And I should also note that I can definitely have margaritas and/or wine here. There are always upsides to be found in just about anything.

Total miles from Lava Beds: 119.7 with side trip into Burney, 18.7. Site 54 no hookups. Occasional 1-2 bars LTE for Verizon that sometimes sort of worked. 1 annoying bar of 5g for ATT that didn’t really work. Wifi at Visitor Center that worked for Richard, but not for me. Good free dump with potable water. Water is highly chlorinated. Campground store with some food, gifts, soft serve. Bathrooms do not have outlets, but there is a charging station in front of Visitor Center. There is a fruit inspection station on 139 leaving Lava Beds.