Backpacking Through Crater Lake

A break in the storm over Crater Lake.

Freshly resupplied, I reached the PCT with a 50 pound pack. Patchy snow lined the trail. My first destination was the rim of the crater. It didn't disappoint. I traveled along the Rim Trail stopping every few feet, well maybe not that often but it felt like it.

A view of Wizard Island, a cinder cone volcano, inside Crater Lake. Even though it is summer, snow still lines the rim.

Crater Lake is a caldera. A caldera is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after a major eruption leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano. About 7,000 years ago Mount Mazama erupted, blowing the top of the mountain off leaving behind a five mile in diameter caldera. Lava domes subsequently formed and erupted, leaving behind volcanoes within the crater. This crater filled with rain and melting snow to form the lake. At 1,943 feet deep, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and ninth deepest in the world. The water is naturally a deep and mesmerizing blue. The calm surface offers a mirror like reflection of the sky.

Thunderhead clouds roll in from the eastern Cascades towards Crater Lake.

Fossilized steam vents poke through the ash. The ash is part of an old pyroclastic flow that deposited about 300 feet of ash around Mount Mazama.

The view was just spectacular. I snapped picture after picture until I began to worry I might fill the camera's chip on the first day in the park. There was just something so mesmerizing about the deep blue water and the reflections of the sky in it. I explored the old pyroclastic flows and found fossilized steam vents poke up through the ash. After two days exploring the 33 mile rim of the crater it was time to head back down to the PCT.

Red Cone Volcano is in the foreground. Mount Theilsen is in the distance.

My trek through Crater Lake National Park took me down from the crater to Grouse Hill. My plan was to go from there, follow the snowy PCT out along Red Cone (in the foreground) out to Diamond Lake behind it. Then return southbound on the PCT back to the Annie Springs trail and the campground at Mazama Village. A trip of 81 miles.

While there was still snow on the ground it was summer and the weather was warm. I searched for scenes to photograph but much of the hike was trough forest. It was like hiking through a green tunnel.

The hike was beautiful and peaceful none the less. After about 6 miles I had circled around the Red Cone volcano and reached the first water source. Red Cone Springs is the first back country campground. Back country campgrounds are a little bit different than regular camp grounds. There are no showers, no general store, no bathrooms, no RV hook ups. Just a location on the map where other hikers can meet and camp for the night.

Rather than camp I took a break for lunch and replenished my water. Next water source was a little over 8 miles away. I pushed on. After about the 8th mile for the day, my hip joints started hurting and locking up. The extra weight was taking it's toll. I stopped for a rest break. That's when I met Mr. Mosquito and his friends.

I've seen mosquitoes before but the mosquitoes were worse here than when I was in the jungles of Costa Rica. When walking a few would buzz by and try to bite. As soon as I stopped, hundreds would swarm around me. It motivated me to hustle on to my next camping spot. Once I found a good spot for the night I dropped my gear and set up my tent in record time. Ah, shelter from Mr. Mosquito.

Morning prep for the days journey.

Each day was the same routine. Wake before the sun came up. Make some coffee, eat breakfast, check my map and determine where I would camp for the night. Then finish my coffee while listening to the first chirps of a single bird in the forest. One by one another bird would answer. Then another and another as light from the sun below the horizon began lighting up the forest. Within minutes the sun would burst over the horizon accompanied by a cacophony of bird songs.

So with both the forest wildlife and myself now wide awake I would pack up camp. Once packed it was on the trail again. One foot after the other, walking through nature, and immersing myself in its grandeur. Hunt for the next water source. Refill water bottles. Find a place to have lunch. Check my location on the maps. Walk some more. All while looking for scenes to photograph.

One of my campsites about a 1,000 feet down from the rim.

Around midnight one night I turned off the lantern in my tent and and zipped up the sleeping bag to help fight off the cold. I was perhaps a thousand feet below the rim of the crater. Suddenly I was lifted perhaps an inch up, shifted three or four inches towards the door of the tent and deposited back down. What the...? I thought. That was no earthquake. There was no noise, no rumble. just movement of the volcano. The magma in its chamber was moving. It was if the volcano inhaled deeply then let it out. The volcano is alive! How very cool.

Day after day of hiking puts one into a routine. The world and it's problems fad away. So do your worries. You become one with nature. You go to sleep shortly after it gets dark and wake before the sun comes up. All day you walk through the wilderness immersed in its beauty, forgetting about it's dangers. One morning I woke around 4 A.M. to a grunting, snorting type sound. Wasn't sure what it was but I was too tired to care. About an hour later I got up and started making coffee and breakfast. I heard the sound again. I peered around the corner of my tent and behind some trees I saw something too big to be a squirrel unless squirrels can weigh 400 pounds.

It took a moment to register but then it hit me. A bear! My first thought was "This is my breakfast mister bear and you can't have any". Then the realization hit me. It really is a bear. Quietly so as to not draw attention to myself, I frantically searched my tent. Where is it. Where is it. I muttered while keeping one eye on the bear. I found it and took up a position at the corner of my tent. I just needed to squeeze off a couple of shots. I took aim but before I could do anything the bear lumbered off into the woods. Disappointed, I put my camera away and went back to my breakfast.