Crater Lake

Three Deer, a Raccoon, and a Big, Fat Skunk

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Day 13: 6/14/24
From: San Francisco, CA
To: Crater Lake, OR
Distance: 417 miles

I’m up at 6:45 and grab a quick shower before waking the rest of the family. We enjoy a hot breakfast and are on the road a little after 8, in time to catch rush hour traffic in the area. Congested, yes, but at least it moves. San Francisco is not LA.

We’re in for a long drive today and the next few as we head back east again. And back to windy mountain roads after the California highways. We travel the highway that wraps around Mt. Shasta and take in the snowy peaks growing ever closer. I’m thankful Husband’s cold is mostly gone, but he’s having issues equilibrating his ears due to lingering congestion, so the ups and downs on this leg of the journey are a bit of an annoyance for him. No one else came down with his cold, and for that, we celebrate.

We exit one highway into a town called Weed, and yes, they play it up here just as you would expect they would.  “I love Weed” souvenirs abound. We do not stop to buy any. Shortly after, we cross a lake called Grass Lake that looks far more like a meadow than a lake, which is where it got its name, I’m sure. (And not because it came right after Weed.)

We pass the Butte Valley National Grasslands with the Cascade Mountains as a backdrop and it’s all so breathtaking. The closer we get to Crater Lake National Park, the greener our surroundings. After the golden California hills, the deep pine woods of Oregon are refreshing. Husband stops to check out the gorge where Annie Creek runs…and finds a random dollar in the weeds. Who does this? Husband. Of course.

We reach Crater Lake and quickly notice the piles of snow all through the woods. It’s June 14th and there are large piles of snow in the woods. We check in and head to our adorable cabin at the Mazama Village where Husband immediately collapses facedown into a bed. I DID offer to help with the drive today. He declined. I absolve myself of his exhaustion.

After a short rest break, we’re back in the car and headed to the crater that makes this park so amazing. But the Rim Drive is closed after two stops. Why? There’s so much snowmelt and it freezes on the roads overnight. Yes, you read that correctly. There’s a lot of snow on top of this volcano.

There’s no shortage of views, though. The water at Crater Lake is an insane deep blue, and so calm, it looks almost inviting. But that’s a high dive you wouldn’t want to take now or ever. Even in late summer without recent snowmelt, the water here is cold, the average temperature reaching only 55-60 degrees at the surface.

Husband and Younger Child head up a steep hiking trail for a different view of the lake and the cinder cone inside of it. I stay put since I don’t want to challenge my hip today. I’d say Older Child stays to keep me company, but I think they’re just tired of hikes at this point and need a break to check social media.

Once again, I’m kind of glad for a change in plans. We were supposed to be camping in Farewell Bend campground, but pests and diseases meant they had to take down a lot of trees, so the campground has been closed until next year. I was notified all of two weeks before our trip, but was able to panic book the single remaining cabin at the Mazama Village. (Which is closer to the crater anyway – win!)

It’s supposed to be a low of 29 degrees tonight. It’s 53 now and breezy, but not bad in the sun as I type this from the crater’s rim. 29 degrees in a tent with sleeping bags only rated for 40 degrees? No. No thank you. So this minor inconvenience ended up being a major blessing. We’ll be comfy and cozy in our cabin tonight.

The nice part about arriving with plenty of time and already having seen the bit of the park we’re able to is that we have plenty of time for doing laundry, which is sorely needed at this point. So that’s our next stop. The kids stay in the cabin and we head for laundry. I am quite certain both kids are happy to be free of us for a couple of hours. We’ve been in each other’s faces nonstop for almost two weeks now.

Husband and I are celebrating our 21st anniversary today just the way I like to. (No, not doing laundry.) Low-key adventures like the one we’ve been on are all the gift I’ll ever need. This is the gift. This life we have together. And I mean, he DID find me a ring in Muir Woods yesterday, so…

After the laundry, we hang out in the cabin. The kids draw while I read. Husband is antsy and doesn’t like sitting still, so he decides to go to the park office to ask if we’re allowed to head to the crater rim for night photos. I’m shocked to hear it’s allowed and doesn’t require a special permit! So now we have to decide what ridiculous time we’re going to get up in order to take photos. Because this opportunity won’t come again. 

Sigh. We’re insane.

So we set the alarm for 2 am, layer up, and head out into the 34 degree weather to see what we can see. Which…isn’t much. Because the entire cabin village is shrouded in thick, white fog. Maybe it will be clearer at the rim?

Friends, it will not. We take the twenty minute ride to West Rim Drive to find out the fog is so thick, we’re now basically inside of clouds. There will be no Milky Way photos over Crater Lake. Twenty minutes back down and we jump back into pajamas and into bed again. 

Along the way, we happened to catch sight of three deer and a raccoon, so I guess it wasn’t totally pointless?

Nah. It really was.

It’s Only an Ankle

/ L. Ryan Storms / Leave a comment

Original Post: September 1, 2015

Day 16 – Crater Lake!  It was “only” a 3 1/2 hour drive from the Redwood National Forest, but it’s funny how on this trip, the shorter drives felt longer.  We arrived at the campground at 12:30, set up camp, ate some lunch, and realized it was already time to get moving again.  Our reservations for the boat tour of Crater Lake were for 3:30 and all of the guidebooks and info say to arrive at the top of Cleetwood Cove at least an hour prior.  That’s because it’s a 1.1 mile switchback trail with an 11% grade down to the lake below. “Insane” is not enough to describe the parents we saw who were carrying toddlers both down and back up this path, although “miserable” was pretty accurate.

 This was the hike I was worried about as the website claims that the “trail is recommended only for those in good physical condition.”  Having screwed up my ankle less than a week prior, I was concerned, but there was no way I was missing out on a boat tour of Crater Lake.  (Two boats in two days?  Whoa!)  Wrap it up!  Thanks Mr. Ace Bandage.  After all, it’s only an ankle. If I screwed it up further, at least it would be 100% worth every second.  We took our time, taking about 45 minutes to reach the bottom of Cleetwood Cove Trail.  Oddly enough, it wasn’t my ankle that bothered me at all, but rather my knees.  It’s always something.  My joints have always been weak and I’ve frequently suffered bouts of tendonitis from time to time in ankles, wrists, and knees.  If that’s my lifelong “condition,” though, I’ll take it. It may not be great fun, but it’s bearable and I’m lucky!  (And I still made it to the bottom of Cleetwood Cove!  WITHOUT my knees buckling on me!)

A view from Cleetwood Cove Trail

While we waited for our tour to be called, we met an adorable family with two young boys who made us a bit homesick for our own little girls.  (You know, the little brats who didn’t want to talk to us because they were having too much fun with my parents. Why do I love them so much!?)  For the purpose of this blog, we’ll call the boys Adam and Taylor and their parents Mel and Tim Johnson.  Though they seemed impressed with our journey, they were on quite the journey of their own (and with kids no less!).  While we waited for the boat, we found out that they were from the San Francisco bay area and that they, too were headed to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons next.  What are the chances?  It was nice to meet kindred spirits who felt the same draw to nature and the desire to pass that love onto the next generation. I regretted not having the girls with us.  (And then I remembered that they hate car rides and that though the destinations were amazing on this trip, the car trips were rides from hell.)

Even with cloudy skies, you could tell the water clarity was positively amazing! I fervently hoped the sun would show up.

The boat tour started off with chop and cloudy skies, instantly dashing my hopes of capturing the amazing water shots.  I had seen images online of Crater Lake waters glinting with amazing clarity – turquoise and deep blue hues typically only seen in the tropics.  We were pleasantly surprised, therefore, when the sun emerged from the clouds and we had the chance to see how blue the waters of Crater Lake really could be.  Maybe a few “tropical” shots after all!

After the tour, we headed back up Cleetwood Cove Trail.  And if the walk down was strenuous, the hike back up was twice that.  (But at least my knees didn’t threaten to buckle going uphill.)  I was ready for a slower pace, but as it turns out Adam and Taylor were quite enamored of Nate and glued themselves to his side.  It was positively endearing…especially as I huffed and puffed from 100 feet behind them.  Every now and again, Nate would pause to wait for me to catch up and I’d get to hear the extensive and intense conversation regarding the latest and most important video game.  I’ll be honest. My asthma hasn’t acted up in 8 years, but this hike definitely had me struggling. Frequent stops helped. Still, we made it to the top in a half hour. (Faster than I could have imagined thanks to the kids, who despite the steep grade still managed to chatter nonstop.  How do kids do this?  What superpower do they possess?)

Nothing cuter than men bonding over talk of video games.

Once we reached the top, we bid the Johnson family farewell, hoping to see them again in Yellowstone, but knowing the odds were likely against it.  As we trekked to our car, their van pulled up and we exchanged cell phone numbers.  Perhaps we’d meet in Yellowstone after all, or at least compare funny stories along the way!

By the time we arrived at the Mazama Campground, we were starved and headed to Annie Creek grill for food.  One lame “fake” pizza later, we were full.  Following up the meal with chocolate “bear claws” improved the dinner considerably.

Another early night for us, but a fully satisfying day.  So, it was only an ankle.   And I didn’t make it any worse by hiking the Cleetwood Cove Trail.  Just don’t ask me how it feels today, nearly two months later.  (Hint: The answer is not “better.”)

It was still worth it.

Yup. Worth it.