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!