Crater Lake can close in October due to snow, but fortunately no snow yet! So off
we went. We passed Seattle,
Portland and Mt
Rainier on the way to our campsite at a state park southwest of the lake.
We
couldn’t have picked a better day to visit Crater Lake National Park
– clear skies, reasonable temperatures, and the crowds weren’t too bad. We
can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer.
We
stopped in the visitor center for the movie & stamp, drove Rim Drive, stopped
at most overlooks, hiked a few trails and had lots of opportunities to use the
cellphone’s panorama feature.
Thousands
of years ago a 12,000-foot volcano dominated the landscape. When it erupted the
top blew off and the mountain caved in to its magma chamber below causing a
deep caldera. The caldera filled with rain and snow run off to form the deepest
lake in North America. No streams flow in our out.
We
hiked up The Watchman which is only a 1.6-mile round trip, 420-foot elevation
gain hike, but at 8013 feet above sea level it made Barbara a bit winded.
We
took a trail to volcanic spires called The Pinnacles.
And
Bill took two two-mile hikes: one climbing down to the lake shore at Cleetwood
Cove (a 700-foot descent) and the other to Plaikni Falls.
A
good day. Now we are off to the coast.
