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when i went to oregon in november of 2022 i had really been hoping to visit crater lake— i found out though that i was into the winter road conditions window which begins november 1
i spent a bit of time reading up on the rules for being on the mountain roads and discovered that my weight of vehicle would need to carry chains and i would need them for all 6 of my tires
i just wasn’t up for that, the idea that i would have to put on all those chains so i regretfully skipped crater lake— but didn’t fully understand the situation
because driving home after thanksgiving i realized that i could have gotten stuck at any time in the numerous passes i traveled returning home— i started to notice the frequent chain up pull outs and knew that i was really lucky it hadn’t snowed yet!
the same thing happened driving my vardo home from colorado in early january 2020— there were many places i could have gotten stuck but didn’t because there was no snow
very hot and very cold weather are issues for me when i go on road trips with my vardo— but i know that over time i will figure out how to deal with these situations so i can expand my travel opportunities
but in july last year heading south from redmond, it wasn’t too hot or too cold, and i was headed for crater lake!
i used the recreation.gov website to find a primitive campground relatively close by— i took crescent cut-off rd off highway 97 out of crescent, oregon and about 30 minutes later i was at crescent creek campground
it was a small campground right by the creek with no hook ups and no good hiking but just right for what i needed which was a place to sleep— and only $15
early the next morning me and finny headed for crater lake national park which was about an hour and a half drive from the campground— i was so excited to see the lake and it wasn’t a disappointment
it was so unbelieveably blue!— so rich and tranquil!— so awesome!— we drove all the way in to the crater lake lodge, stopping at numerous vista points to see the lake— i popped into the visitor center and the gift shop— but everything at that end was super duper crowded and congested— it just completely undermined the feeling of reverence and humility i had seeing this incredible manifestation of earth’s beauty
we turned around and started the drive back, enjoying some of the vista stops we hadn’t seen going in— at one i found a small trail that led up to an amazing vantage point where no one else was— me and finny just sat there for a good while listening to the wind and the birds and just soaking in the literal magnificence of this sacred place
a bit farther on we stopped and took an hour hike on a section of the pacific crest trail that passes through the national park
if i think about it, i can still feel the power of being in the presence of that place, that water, inside me
Klamath Indians called the lake Giiwas
