Crater Lake

Miles Hiked 317.0
PCT Mile 832.6
Elevation feet 6,335
Miles Hiked Today 8.0

Wow!  It was cold this morning.  I had to check my water bottle to see if the water froze in the night.  Nope, but I bet it was close.

I found it particularly hard to get going since my sleeping bag was so warm and outside was so cold.  It was 6:45 a.m. before I left the Grouse Hill Campground.

The plan is to hike the Crater Lake rim trail to the lodge.  The sides of the crater are high, and that means a big climb to get to the crater’s rim.  It took me almost two hours to get high enough to finally see the lake.  It was quite the sight to see all that water in the caved in volcano.

From Wikipedia:

“Crater Lake is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is a tourist attraction known for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a 2,148-foot-deep (655 m) caldera^[4] that was formed around 7,700 (± 150) years ago^[5] by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. No rivers flow into or out of the lake; the evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall at a rate such that the total amount of water is replaced every 150 years.^[6] With a depth of 1,949 feet (594 m),^[7] the lake is the deepest in the United States. In the world, it ranks tenth for maximum depth, as well as fifth for mean depth.

Crater Lake features two small islands. Wizard Island, located near the western shore of the lake, is a cinder cone about 316 acres (128 hectares) in size. Phantom Ship, a natural rock pillar, is located near the southern shore.”

Okay, now I’ve seen Crater Lake.  I don’t know if there is any connection, but at that moment I realized I was hungry and wanted breakfast. The problem is if I stayed on the trail I would miss breakfast at the Crater Lake Lodge.  So, yes, I cheated. I stuck my thumb out and caught a ride to the lodge right away. Time for breakfast.

After breakfast, I sat on a very comfortable couch in front of a fireplace in the Crater Lake Lodge’s reception room.  An hour later, I had to get up and head for Mazama Village where there is a general store holding a provision package for me, and the campground for tonight is also there.  So heading down the trail, it took a little over two hours to hike from the lodge to the village.

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out and talking with other hikers.  The village has a restaurant and late afternoon I went there and had a great hamburger and french fry dinner. I’ll be back for breakfast.

Tomorrow is my birthday.  I’ll be 77.  To celebrate, I’m not going anywhere.  It will be a zero day.