Jewel of the Cascades

 

Sunrise from the terrace at Crater Lake Lodge

Crater Lake National Park, Ore. – When Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed Oregon’s Crater Lake the nation’s sixth national park in 1902, America’s deepest lake was considered a wonder of the world and celebrated by songwriters, poets and photographers.

“I knew when I gazed upon Crater Lake that even though the West was filled with undiscovered wonders, Crater Lake would hold its own,” recalled prospector John Wesley Hillman, who stumbled upon the 1,933-foot-deep lake in June 1853 while looking for gold.

But as Crater Lake National Park celebrates its centennial this year, the sapphire jewel of the Cascade crest has fallen into unwarranted obscurity. A mere 16,000 of the park’s 500,000 annual visitors bother to climb down the caldera wall and into a wooden tour boat for the unique thrill of exploring the interior of a volcano. And only 50,000 visitors each year brave Crater Lake’s 533-inch average snowfall to experience the park in winter.

One hundred years ago adventure travelers overlooked the hardships of turn-of-the-century travel in order to experience the scenic wonders of special places such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Mount Rainier and Crater Lake. But for most of today’s visitors, Crater Lake is a drive-through park, with half staying less than four hours and a mere 15 percent spending a night within the 183,000-acre park.

Yet the short-sightedness of drive-through visitors is a boon for the locals. Nearby residents who love Crater Lake return again and again, in sunshine and in storm, secure in the knowledge that they’ll never run into a crowd and that there’s much more to Crater Lake National Park than a deep blue lake.

Crater Lake is a diminutive park, roughly even by 10 miles but within its rectangular borders are five volcanic peaks ranging from 7,265 to 8,926 feet high. The most remote is 7,709-foot Union Peak, a blunt finger of rock that rises above the southwest corner of the park.

Lloyd Knapp of nearby Applegate, Ore., still recalls a memorable trip to the summit 25 years ago.

“We lingered and watched the sun go down. As always, we were spellbound by the mountain, and how the mountain’s shadow climbed into the mist as the sun lowered slowly in the west. We were then forced to hike 5 miles back to the car in near total darkness, without flashlights and only an occasional camper’s match to occasionally light the way,” he says.

“We made it back to the car by 11:00 p.m. I was young, foolish, and very confident — and it worked. For me, it’s an unforgettable adventure away from the lake, in the relatively unseen side of the national park,” Knapp says.

The Pacific Crest Trail bisects the park from north to south, offering easy back-country access for backpackers and hikers. Those who take to the trails at Crater Lake get a chance to see sights unseen by those who stick to the pavement, including old-growth forests of Ponderosa pine, a colorful riot of obscure wildflowers and the shy but magnificent elk herd that summers in the park. From a trailhead in the adjacent Rogue River National Forest, a short hike leads into the park to Boundary Springs, the magical spot where the legendary whitewater of the Rogue River bursts forth from the forest floor. And at park headquarters in Munson Valley, a loop trail of historic buildings leads to the Lady of the Woods, a sculpture carved into a forest boulder 85 years ago.

Most visitors to Crater Lake National Park spend their time looking down, but Amy Richard of nearby Ashland, Ore., recommends looking up, especially after dark. Last September she and her husband booked a room at Crater Lake Lodge, spent the day motorcycling in and around the park, and when the sun went down, headed to the 7,100-foot elevation rim for some serious stargazing.

“We saw constellations we’d never seen before— we’re novices—and the stars in the sky really did sparkle like jewels. One of the staff that lives in housing up there throughout the summer said sometimes the night sky is so filled with stars it’s as if a blanket has covered the sky, virtually eliminating the darkness,” Richard says. “But one does need to dress warmly for stargazing in September. It’s chilly up there, but worth it.”

Another great time to look up is sunrise because at Crater Lake National Park, the dawn really does come up like thunder.

Guests at Crater Lake Lodge can take to the terrace with complimentary coffee to watch the rising sun paint the sky above the lake from palest rose to fiery red and imagine that Mount Mazama has woken from the 7,700-year slumber since the cataclysmic eruption that created the nation’s deepest lake.

With an average annual snowfall of 533 inches August the only month almost guaranteed to be snow free, Crater Lake is a park defined and designed by winter. And when Geoffrey Riley of nearby Talent, Ore., moved to southern Oregon with his wife, Joi , 17 years ago, their first view of the local national park was in its natural state.

“It was snowing, but not enough to stop us from driving up in a 2-wheel drive car without chains. No particular problems getting there, but when we got there, there was no “there” there. We could not see the lake,” Riley says. “There was already plenty of snow on the ground, including a big embankment to one side of the parking lot. After about 15 minutes, it occurred to us why we didn’t see any trees on the other side of the embankment. Because the lake was over there. The sign in the snow bank that said ‘Do not go beyond this point’ was the cinching clue,” Riley recalls. “We howled with laughter for a minute or two, realized the weather would not get better, and went home. We finally saw the lake a few months later.”

The park’s winter lure isn’t the lake – it’s the snow. Local cross-country ski groups maintain miles of groomed trails and field a volunteer ski patrol. A two-day circuit of the lake on skis, including an overnight of winter camping, ranks as a peak experience for most cross-country skiers.

On winter weekends, rangers lead free snowshoe hikes from the cafeteria at Rim Village. And snowmobiles are allowed to follow the snow-covered North Entrance Road from Oregon 230 to the overlook at the intersection with Rim Drive.

On the 100th anniversary of Crater Lake National Park, the quintessential experience for travelers hailing from near and far remains the rim on a fine summer day. For Linda Willis of nearby Grants Pass, Ore., a favorite Crater Lake outing is bicycling the 33-mile Rim Drive that circles the lake.

“I always go in August to experience a gorgeous, blue-sky day where the temperature will be around 80 degrees,” she says. “The last time I did it was a training ride for another event and it took me three hours almost non-stop. It was a celebration of my health, fitness and the opportunity to live so close to such stunning beauty.”

 

Boating the caldera of the nation’s deepest lake.

Copyright 2002 © by Beth Quinn Barnard. All rights reserved.  Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Originally published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on August 18, 2002.