This photo was taken when my family was visiting Lassen Volcanic National Park on June 25, 2005. The picture was an attempt to capture the scenery and snow but seems to have captured something else as well! The ghostly figure in the trees on the left side of the picture was not seen by any of us at the time the photo was taken.

The photo site is near the park road at an altitude of about 8,164 feet, on the north side of Bumpass Mountain, looking west with lake Helen (frozen over) in the background on the right. This spot is about a mile from an area of the park called Bumpass Hell.

When I first looked at the photo, I saw the "ghost" immediately and thought it appeared to have a wooden leg. Then I remembered the story of how Bumpass Hell got its name.

Bumpass Hell was named for its discoverer, Kendall Vanhook Bumpass, one of the first (non-Indian) explorers of the region. It lies in a basin eaten out by the chemical action of hot sulfuric acids and has a variety of steam vents, solfataras, mudpots, and hot springs. In 1865, Bumpass was showing the place to a small group. The ground was thin, brittle, and unstable. Bumpass accidentally broke through the surface and his leg went into the boiling mud underneath. His leg was so badly scalded that it had to be amputated.

Could the "ghost" in the photo possibly be Bumpass roaming his old haunts? I don't know, but I thought the picture was interesting.

--Dave S.