Hiking Cinder Cone in Lassen Volcanic National Park: Painted Dunes, Lava Beds, and the Small Wonders Along the Way

The Cinder Cone Trail in Lassen Volcanic National Park might be the most surreal hike I've taken in California. The destination is a perfectly symmetrical 350-year-old volcano you can climb up and walk into, with red volcanic dunes and jagged lava beds spread out below. There are flowers and trees growing out of bare gravel, a forest with no understory, and a crater you can stand inside. Here's what I noticed.