Crater Lake is the most recent of the Seven Wonders of Oregon that I've been fortunate to visit. We had planned to visit a few years ago, however that year was also one of the years the area was dealing with a record breaking forest fire and so, plans were cancelled in the interests of safety and being able to breathe. It was at that point that we had to resume our normal lives and it would be another two years before we were able take that journey. It was worth the wait.
Crater Lake is, to date, the furthest excursion we've taken in our exploration of Oregon. The Crater Lake National Park is about 300 miles (or around 5 hours driving) south of Hillsboro, OR (also known as the town I live in). From what I can recall, we only made two turns on the road we were taking, one left and one right. Both the drive and the roads are pretty straightforward making it a relaxing journey for even the most directionally challenged of us. We constantly found ourselves drifting into a state of zen where there was nothing more beyond us and the road. We also found that many miles would pass between sightings of another fellow human being. Just keep an eye on your gas gauge and refuel when you get the chance and you'll be fine.
I wanted to place this photograph directly after the last one because, as we got closer to the park, we noticed something interesting was happening. In August of 2015, a rainless thunderstorm passed over this area. One particular bolt of lightning from this storm struck nearby and started the largest forest fire in recorded Crater Lake history. The fire burned for over a month and destroyed more than 10,000 acres of the Oregon forest. Firefighters bravely worked to set up controlled burns along this stretch of the highway in a successful attempt to prevent the fire from spreading further into the park. The disparity between the burned trees on the right and the spared trees on the left serves to show what would have happened had the fire continued unabated.
Soon, we made it through the nothern entrance to the park. The trees that had been constantly beside us during the entire journey fell back from the road and the entire landscape opened up to us. We were greeted by open fields spotted with brush and leftover snow. As we moved further up in elevation, the air around us began feeling cooler and, for lack of a better word, purer.
There is a heaviness in city air, a weightiness that can be contributed to factors like general pollution or the fact that the air doesn't really circulate in cities due to all the structures that impede airflow. In the area where we now found ourselves, the air was filtered and invigorating and encouraged taking the deepest breaths possible at all times. We needed to move on but, from this point forward, the windows would stay rolled down in the car.
It may interest you to know that Crater Lake is not an impact crater. No otherworldly body fell from the heavens and slammed into the Earth here. Crater Lake is what is known as a volcanic crater, or caldera, and was caused when Mount Mazama erupted around 8000 years ago. When this eruption occurred, the magma chamber that was supporting the ground emptied and the remains of Mount Mazama sunk into the ground to fill the now available real estate. I have read that the Native Americans living in the area at that time saw the whole thing go down. I'm sure it was a spectacular sight to see and probably more than a little terrifying.
One major prominent feature is Wizard Island, seen here on the western side of the lake. Wizard Island is not the remains of a collapsed Mount Mazama, although it's easy to see why one may think that. Following the main eruption and collapse of Mount Mazama, several smaller eruptions took place over the next few hundred years deposited additional material to build up the island as you see it.
Another amazing feature to bear in mindis that there are no rivers or underground waterways that feed into Crater Lake. All of the water you see is either collected from rainfall, or melted snowpack. The water in the lake is replaced every 250 years or so and that is thanks entirely to the water cycle, basically water in the lake evaporates, turns into clouds, then rains back down into itself. The water is some of the purest in the world and the lake is the deepest in the United States. Trivia is fun!
Once we reached our final destination, we got out of the car and looked out over the edge of the scenic point. The view was breathtaking and we noticed several signs warning us not to get too close to the edge. There are no fences to spoil the view and the sides of the cliffs surrounding the lake are extremely steep drops, if I slid down the side, I wasn't getting back up under my own power. We decided to take the safe route and head back to where we parked the car. It was a good thing we did because we were able to grab a couple photo opportunities with some of the locals.
These little guys were everywhere and they were extremely curious of us and the other visitors who were taking pictures in the area. Just a reminder that it is illegal to feed the local wildlife, even if they make it difficult to look them in the eyes and say 'no'. It is also not in their best interests to be hand fed. Not only can human food make them sick, chipmunks play a very important role when it comes to reforestation. Chipmunks often bury seeds and nuts for a later date. Should the chipmunk forget where a seed is buried, that seed gets the chance to grow into whatever plant or tree it was supposed to be, which then drops more seeds for the chipmunks to bury and forget about which, in turn, yields even more trees.
We spent some a couple more hours checking out the visitors center and taking in some more of the views. The visitors center has some great information on the formation of Crater Lake and an observation deck to see a greater view of the lake. Unfortunately, the sun was starting to go down at this point and we decided it was time to leave because we had a long drive back home. We took note that there were some hiking trails we didn't get the chance to hit and, in the summer months, there is a tour boat that brings you out to Wizard Island (although if you don't go back on the boat that brings you out, you may find yourself unable to catch a tide back to the mainland until the end of the day when there is more available room for stragglers). At least we know we have a few great and valid reasons for a return visit. We will have to leave earlier next time, if only to get to spend some extra time breathing in that mountain air.
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