journey to the center of the volcano

Back from the trip! It’s amazing how a vacation can simultaneously feel longer than it actually is and much too short. After only two days, we had covered so much ground and seen so many things we agreed that it felt more like 4-5 days had passed! All I can figure is that when you aren’t constantly checking the clock and counting down the hours to lunch, quitting time, bed, etc. time becomes a non-issue and you can really enjoy yourself. Not to mention having little or no chores for the week. On a trip like this making the bed means rolling up a sleeping bag. Cleaning the house = packing up the tent. Showering? Nah, I’ll wait another day (or two).

I mentioned a few posts ago that my friend Lauren was no longer able to take the trip with me and that my dad was hoping to do the Yosemite leg. Well, it turns out by parents just couldn’t stand the thought of me camping alone for a few nights…you know… bears, rapists, etc., so my dad decided to join me for the whole thing. This was great news for both of us!

First stop: Crater Lake National Park! When I began planning this trip, the first destination was Redwood NP. I would be flying into San Francisco, so it was the start of a logical loop of the four parks. As I thought about it more, I realized that if Crater Lake was first, my friend Julie (who lives in incredible Bend, OR) could meet up with me there for the weekend. An enthusiastic “Yes!” from Julie and it was settled. Not the most direct route, but definitely worth it!

My dad and I landed in San Francisco about 20 minutes apart on Friday evening. After a quick stop at the terminal Pinkberry for some salted caramel frozen yogurt (1. You know I couldn’t resist! and 2. Yes, it was amazing as it sounds), we picked up the rental car and drove about 2 hours before stopping for the night at an old fashioned road-side motel.

We got an early start the next morning and pulled up to the park entrance sign about 6 hours later. After the requisite photo at the sign (a tradition started during the epic Curse of Clench Canyon roadtrip of ’06), we headed towards the campsite. Then we had to deal with the double-edged sword of National Parks…limited phone reception. It’s great for getting away from the hustle and bustle, not so great when you are trying to meet up with someone. We had heard a rumor that the far end of campground loop E near the canyon had spotty cell service…So we headed there and success! I had just enough time to phone Julie and tell her our site number.

Julie found us easily at the campsite and after some quick introductions and greetings, we headed out to explore the park. At this point we still hadn’t even glimpsed the lake yet and were very anxious to see it. As the name implies, Crater Lake is the caldera of a volcano (Mount Mazama) filled with water. At one point Mt. Mazama was about 12,000 feet tall. 7,700 years ago it blew its top off, collapsed in on itself and created the caldera. Incredibly, the crater filled up by precipitation and snow melt alone (there are no other water sources feeding it) and created the deepest lake (1,943 ft) in North America (and one of the deepest in the world.) It’s other big claim to fame is being the clearest lake in the world.

Our first view of the lake was at Phantom Ship overlook and it was an amazing one! The time of day and angle of the sun made the water blindingly bright and sparkling. The Phantom Ship was in silhouette surrounded by stunning silver. A few pics here and we headed off the main drive to the Pinnacles. The look of this area reminded me of the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon but in shades of gray. The formation of these spires is pretty interesting. As eruptions took place, layer upon layer of ash accumulated in this area. In some places below the ash deposits, hot gases were trying to escape. As the gases worked their way up though the ash, they caused a reaction and the ash in those columns solidified. Over time, the surrounding ash eroded away through snow melt and wind and the now solidified ash pinnacles were left standing. Pretty cool, right?!

After checking out the Pinnacles, we headed to a short trail that led to a waterfall. With the record snowfall out west this past winter, the snow took much longer than usual to melt. In fact, it was around mid July when the snow finally disappeared. As a result, it was essentially spring in mid August…there were wildflowers blooming everywhere! I was in heaven!

It was an easy and pretty hike…but the mosquitos were crazy! I could barely stop to a take picture without getting attacked. We hustled back towards the car and moved on. As the sun headed towards the horizon we headed back to the lake to check out the sunset views. Watching the sun setting over the lake was pretty incredible…but when we looked the other direction, the full moon rising in a purple and pink sky really caught our attention.

By that point, we were all pretty famished. Julie was nice enough to bring some food to cook back at camp…but I was in need of a big meal. We headed to the dining hall (buffet!) next to the campsite…it all gets a little gray from there as a BLH attack was quickly approaching. I know I ate a lot. I remember thinking that everything tasted amazing, as if it had been days since I’d eaten. I’m pretty sure the food was average at best…but that night, it was gourmet! As I came back to life, I had enough sense to save room for dessert…SMORES. A trip like this wouldn’t be complete with at least one night of smores. We made a nice fire, roasted marshmallows, chatted and then headed to bed. A pretty good first day if you ask me!

Stay tuned for day two at Crater Lake!

river of grass

Tonight just happens to be a full moon…which automatically makes me think of Everglades National Park. Why you ask? No, it has nothing to do with skunk ape, even though official “research headquarters” is right down the road. I’m thinking about the sunset to full moon bike ride at Shark Valley.

Everglades National Park is the park I currently live closest to…actually, I hate to say it, but at one point the place I live was the Everglades. Years ago, developers came in and drained, demucked, scraped and dynamited their way through the underlying coral rock so Miami (and other neighboring cities) could expand to their current proportions. Leaving my home, it’s only a 20 minute ride to Shark Valley and from escaping Miami’s craziness.

The main feature of Shark Valley is the 15 mile paved loop trail that is accessible to bikers, walkers and the occasional ranger led tram. At the half-way point of the trail is an observation tower that provides 360 degree views of the “River of Grass”. You can bring your own bike or rent single speed bikes from the park. This ride is especially fantastic during the winter months when typical Florida temperatures cool down (there is no shade on the trail) and the alligators come out to bask in the sun. On a ride in December, my sister and I counted nearly 150 gators along the loop! Ok, that last sentence probably just made some of you non-Floridians cross this ride off of your to-do list. But here’s the thing, gators are pretty lazy. They aren’t going to chase you down unless provoked (i.e. don’t try to touch them!) You’re lucky if you get to see them do more than blink! Besides, the trail is pretty wide, so just move over if you want to keep your distance. You can also see many different species of birds – herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills, gulls, hawks…the list goes on!

As amazing as the day rides can be, the sunset to full moon ride is really incredible. I first heard about the ride from a ranger at the park. We had been trying for 5 months to do this ride, but rain, clouds and a scheduling conflict or two always seemed to get in the way. Finally, the full moon in February was going to be perfect. It fell on a Friday and the weather looked great. The park occasionally offers a ranger led ride (not sure if they do during the summer) where you learn some great information about the park. We opted to ride on our own but ended up meeting up with the ranger’s group at the observation tower.

Depending on your pace, the 7 mile ride to the observation tower can take anywhere from 35-50 minutes. Riding during the golden hour is really beautiful and there was still a lot of wildlife out. The goal is to get to the tower in time to watch the sunset, so plan accordingly if you’d like to ride at a more leisurely pace. Once we got to the tower, we relaxed and waited for the moon to rise. Have you ever just sat and watched the horizon for the moon to rise? I realized that I never had until that point…plenty of sunrises and sunsets, but never a moonrise. I was thankful the rangers were there because they encouraged everyone to keep silent, listen to the sounds of the creatures settling in for the night and just simply watch night fall. And little by little, the moon started creeping its way up into the sky. When it was high enough to illuminate a path, we returned down to our bikes to ride the final 8 miles.

With a full moon on a clear night, it is bright enough to ride without an additional light source. There are glints of silver speckled here and there where the moonlight reflects off shallow patches of water. In the dark, you forget about the alligators lining the sides of the trail. As we rode along, we encountered one more curiosity…lightning bugs! I’d seen them in other states, but never in Florida, so it was quite a surprise to see so many. It really was a unique way to experience the park. Though it took months for conditions to fall into place, it was definitely worth the wait!