This year marked a return to one of our favorite outdoor playgrounds, the volcanic sands and surreal landscapes of Lassen National Park. One experience missing from three previous trips [1990, 1994, 1998] was actually making the trek up to Lassen Peak. So we car camped a couple nights, did the Peak, then packed in a short walk to the eastern side of Butte Lake and set up for the rest of the week.

Pertinent Details: Lassen encompasses 106,000 acres of forested hills and volcanic oddities between the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges. Majestic 10,457-foot Lassen Peak is the largest volcano of the "plug dome" type, which develops a distinct rounded shape when thick lava cools and plugs its own vent. All four types of the world's volcanoes [plug dome, shield, cinder cone, and strato] can be found within the boundaries of Lassen Volcanic National Park, designated as such in 1916 after the last series of major eruptions on Lassen Peak.

This trip would also be a field test for my first foray into digital photography ...yeah, yeah, I know... "get with the Program, old-timer!". I've held out this long because I've been waiting to get what I know I want...a small, rugged, capable tool that would serve as an adjunct to my current camera kit, not replace it. I like shooting with film on precision equipment for many reasons, but the appeal of an all-digital workflow is getting harder and harder to resist.

After doing all the requisite research, I settled on a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2. Though its immediate appeal is the superb Leica Vario-Elmarit lens, there are several additional features catering to exacting users as myself; including 10.2 megapix, native 16:9 wide aspect ratio, camera RAW format and clean black styling. So far I've been impressed by its capabilities and usability, and the images are sharp and bright. See if you can notice the differences in aspect and color for the mix of digital and film photos presented here.

Once again the combination of location, weather, attractions, isolation, exercise, good eats and warm fellowship added up to a totally Peak Experience.