May 11, 2009, Brokeoff Mt, Lassen

We entered the Southwest entrance which offers a variety of tours.  We wanted to tour a different route on Brokeoff Mt. and started our tour at the Brokeoff Mt. summer trailhead.  This route ascends the southern ridgeline.  There is a new kiosk with park maps and a pay station.  Being senior citizens, we used our Golden Eagle Passport for free parking.  The snow banks were 4-5 feet high so we used our mapping GPS to follow the buried summer trail.  The route follows the stream from Forest Lake, but climbs above the lake basin.  The snow was a mix of firm in the trees, corn on the sun baked slopes, and mush where the recent new snow was still partially shaded.  The trail starts at 6600€™ and we stopped at a knoll about 600€™ below the summit.  The terrain was a mix of glades and gullies and was not along a continuous fall line.  Our high point offered southern views of Lassen and the ridgeline peaks of Mount Diller, Pilot Pinnacle, Ski Heil Peak and Eagle Peak. All these ski able peaks had good snow coverage.  We descended counterclockwise from our ascent route in hopes of better snow, but the snow was still rather soft.  After our tour we visited the new Kom Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center which opened in October 2008. The new facility is compact and blends well with the surroundings.  The new film about the park was enjoyable and free.  They still offer an area for snow camping near the visitor center and we noticed a couple of overnight campers in the parking lot.  The southern road is open to the Sulphur Works parking area.  A ranger at the Visitor Center said the road is plowed to Bumpass Hell and they were planning to open that segment on Saturday, May 16.