Our final day at Crater Lake, we had the special experience of a boat tour on the water. I was able to book tickets last minute, which was such a treat. It feels extra special because access to the water will be closed for three years after this season. No boat tours, no swimming. The dock, bathrooms, and general water access area are about to undergo a major renovation and restoration project. Our timing good not have been better, so lucky.
We left the campground early and drove around the rim to Cleetwood Cove. The day was calm, not even a breeze ruffling the highest leaves. The lake was as smooth as glass. It was so peaceful and majestic. The rim of Mount Mazama and the clouds above reflected in the royal blue waters.
That scenery kept us going as we began the steep switchbacks that led us to the lake’s edge. Seven hundred feet down to the water. My knees were a little cranky, but the biggest challenge was pushing aside thoughts of climbing back out! That was a couple hours down the road though.
Once at the lake, still as blue as ever, we waited in the hot, sunny line to board the boat. Park Ranger Bruce was our guide and gosh did he do a fantastic job. As we glided around the lake in the flat bottomed boat, he shared all about the creation of the lake, the history of recreation there, the animals living there and more. We saw beautiful snow-fed waterfalls, lush green vegetation on the caldera walls, Wizard Island close up. The calm waters and breeze as we sailed around made for a wonderful tour.
Ranger Bruce shared how underfunded the park is, how they don’t truly have enough staff to keep everyone safe. It would take 16 people to carry someone out of the caldera. Sixteen people! there are only two park ranger police, which are the only EMTs in the park. Crater Lake was hit hard by federal budget cuts. So if you are interested in donating to a park, this would be a good one.
Ranger Bruce also shared wild stories about how people would access the lake before Cleetwood Cove was installed. People wanting to boat would put a team together and carry a boat down the steep, loose rock sides of the caldera. I would hate to have been the person at the front of the boat! One wrong step and down you’d go. Yikes!
He also talked about members of the Klamath tribe coming to the lake historically on spiritual journeys. They would be looking to commune with their spirits, their guides through hallucination. So they would run down the side of the caldera to the lake, pick up the largest boulder they could carry, and speed back to the top. If they weren’t hallucinating, they’d do it again.
This lake has seen so much activity and change over the years. And yet the water remains the purest in the world. As our tour came to an end, we had the privilege of drinking water straight out of the lake. Ranger Bruce and the captain collected our bottles (reusable ones only, single-use plastic not allowed) and dipped them right into the blue water. It tasted divine.
We also got to see the “Old Man” in the lake, a log floating vertically for over 100 years. About 3 feet stick up above the surface and about 20 feet float below. It’s quite the interesting phenomenon.
It was another magical day, a wonderful experience. I’m so glad we made time for it. The whole ride, I kept thinking, “I’m inside a volcano!” How often can you say that?
The magic of it propelled us up and out of the caldera and through our long drive afterwards, all the way to the Redwoods. We arrived late at night, just a little sunlight still lingering, and headed right to bed.
Tonelli's Travels 