Crater Lake

see all photos »

We continued our path north in to Oregon, and since we’ve been to Portland and the coast there, we decided to make our way to Crater Lake.

We had read about the incredible blue color of the lake, but still we were in awe when we saw it for the first time. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. (7th deepest in the world) and was created by a volcano that erupted from a 12,000 foot high mountain almost 8,000 years ago. The caldera is about 5 miles wide and the color of the blue is simply from the depth (almost 2,000 feet deep) and the clear nature of the lake water.

No other lake like it!

Pics seem to speak for themselves!!
see all photos »

What we didn’t know before we arrived is that they get a LOT of snow which is the source for the water in the lake (averaging over 500 inches annually) and most of the roads and hiking paths do not open until early July, so that somewhat limited our choices of hikes. The snow poles along side the road to guide the plows sit 15 feet high and we’re told that sometimes that isn’t high enough, so that gives you an idea of how high the snow falls are. We chose to hike the Garfield Peak trail which gives great views from the south side of the lake. There were still some significant piles of snow along the last portion, so we couldn’t quite get to the top of the peak. Loved the day!

Scott trying to dig out trail marker from the snow
see all photos »

P.S. these pics are not digitally enhanced and are true to how the lake looks in person - just stunning!

Next we continue our trek north…