INTO
THE DEEP
We
got up at first light on Wednesday, broke camp, and ate a cold breakfast in the
car. At least we had hot coffee, which
was welcome since it was barely above freezing.
We left Diamond Lake and drove south into Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake is an immense blue lake in the
collapsed caldera of an extinct volcano.
A paved road circles the lake, following the rim of the crater high
above the water. Driving the road is
popular with tourists, but we wouldn’t be able to do the whole thing. The east side was still closed due to
lingering snow from the previous winter.
One of the trails I wanted to do, up Garfield Peak, was still closed,
too.
We
stopped at a couple of overlooks before driving to the parking area for the Cleetwood Cove Trail.
This is the only trail that descends to the lake. We had reservations for the early morning
boat tour, which would take us to Wizard Island. Once on the island, we’d have a few hours to
explore before the ride back. We were
supposed to check in no later than 7:30 for check-in, and arrived at 7:15. We milled about the parking lot for a while,
swatting at the abundant mosquitoes. I
was surprised at their persistence, considering that the temperature was still
barely above freezing. The crew arrived
at 7:55. Allegedly they were delayed due
to road construction, but I suspect that partying the night before had more to
do with the delay. After checking in
Christy and I hiked the Cleetwood Cove Trail down to
the boat dock. The Park Service advertises
this trail as being strenuous, but I thought the switchbacks made it easy.
Wizard
Island is a volcano within the volcano.
It is an old cone on the west side of the lake, complete with a summit
caldera. The crew made up some time, and
our departure was almost on schedule.
The ride across the placid water was quick. That was good, as we only had a few hours to
explore the island. There are two
official trails; one to Fumarole Bay and one to the summit / crater rim. I wanted to do both. As we approached, I came up with a plan. I figured (correctly) that the entire
boat-load of people would race straight for the summit. It’s just basic human nature. We would go to Fumarole Bay first.
The
hike to Fumarole Bay is lovely, despite the abundant lava rocks. We passed through the forest, where every
tree was neon green from the profuse moss.
The lake was a startling shade of blue, and patches of wildflowers added
even more color. We hiked to the bay,
which was peaceful. The official trail
ends here, but a beaten path continues.
I decided to press on, as we were close to the spot where a narrow
passage is the only thing separating the island from the main land. Initially this worked out nicely, as the old
trail led to a second bay with a nice view of the water and the cliffs
beyond. After that it deteriorated
rapidly. Any hint of a trail
disappeared. Soon I was scrambling up an
eternal pile of lava rocks. They were
loose, jagged stones the size of concrete blocks. My pace slowed to a crawl and my ambition
began to evaporate. I clearly didn’t
have time to reach the point I was shooting for. I downgraded my goal to the top of the ridge
above. I was hoping for a nice view
there, but when I reached it the vista was largely limited to lava rocks in
every direction.
It
was getting late, and I had a major time constraint. Missing the boat back wasn’t an option. I returned to the trail and hurried back
towards the dock. I then started up the
trail to the summit. It was a moderate
ascent on switchbacks, and I was almost running up it. The views really opened up towards the
top. One of the best was out over the
sea of lava rocks I’d been hiking through earlier. It was quite scenic, with lots of small green
ponds dotting the landscape and the deep blue lake and sheer cliffs
beyond. It was a much better view than
what I gotten from scrambling around off-trail earlier.
I
found Christy waiting for me at the top.
I took a quick tour of the rim of the cone. There are great views from all sides, and the
caldera still had some snow at the bottom.
At the far side of the rim I found some ancient bleached trees. These are the wizards that the island is
named for. Apparently they look like
wizards from a distance because their pointy tops look like wizard hats.
After
enjoying the views we headed back down. The boat ride back was quick and
uneventful. Cleetwood
Cove was much busier when we returned. Cleetwood Cove is the only part of the lakeshore that you
can hike to. It is a popular
destination, as many visitors to the park want to hike to the water. There were quite a few people swimming,
too. The water was only 52 degrees, but
it was a warm, sunny day after a chilly start.
Christy decided that she had to swim in Crater Lake, so we scrambled down
through some rocks to reach the water.
There were several other people here, including one young woman,
Rebeka. She ended up wading out near
where Christy was swimming. We all ended
up chatting, and we found out that she had driven up from Eugene for the
day. She was in Eugene for the Olympic
Trails. She had competed in the
Steeplechase, and had missed qualifying for Rio by a fraction of a second.
Rebeka
wanted to jump off a cliff into the lake.
It just so happens that I’d seen a suitable cliff (with people jumping
off) a few minutes earlier. I showed it
to her, and was happy to get photos and video of her jumping into the icy
lake. Later, we saw her running back up
the Cleetwood Cove Trail, probably to
warm back up. And I don’t mean jogging –
she was running full speed. This is a
trail that many tourists struggle to hike up.
We
spent the rest of the day driving the open parts of the road on the rim and
visiting various overlooks. The views
were incredible. Aside from the deep
blue water below, the vistas encompassed snowy peaks and distant
volcanoes. This part of the road was
extremely busy though. I think having
part of the road closed made it worse, because it forced all of the visitors
into a smaller area.
Overall,
Crater Lake exceeded my expectations.
Wizard Island was very cool, and the lake was more beautiful than I
could’ve imagined.
Now
I’d like to take a break from the narrative to address a few frequently asked
questions:
How deep
is Crater Lake?
1,949’ at its deepest
point, making it the deepest lake in the country and the 10th deepest
lake in the world.
Can you drink the water?
Of course, but it may
kill you. Probably not, but it could.
How much water does it
hold?
19 trillion liters.
Dammit, how much is
that in ‘merican?
5 trillion gallons.
Make ‘merica great again!
Uh huh.
How many wizards live
on Wizard Island?
Usually 3 or 4, but it varies. Wizards tend to come and go as they please.
Back to Oregon.
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!