Did we or Did We Not see Crater Lake?

North America » United States » Oregon » Grants Pass
October 16th 2006

Published: October 19th 2006

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After yesterdays adventures with the weather we were hoping that things would be better today, hoping, but not really all that optimistic. We opened the door first thing and there were a few patches of blue, but after chasing them all day yesterday we learned our lesson - they are fleeting! The big question was - will there or will there not be snow at Crater Lake, our next destination…

Statistics

Starting Destination: Reedsport, Oregon
Ending Destination: Grants Pass, Oregon
Ending Destination GPS: N: 42° 26.249’ W: 123° 17.832’ Elev: 101’
Miles Driven: 362.7
Depth of Snow Waded Through: 6-8 inches

Sand Dunes…

Our initial plan for today had been to head directly for Crater Lake and then get as close to the Redwoods as we could… Carl talked to the local tour guide (aka the owner of the hotel where we stayed the night) and he said that we could get out to the beach and see the lighthouse and some of the tallest sand dunes in Oregon - just 5 miles down the road… So off we went - 5 miles down the road in the opposite direction to where we needed to go!! But it was worth it… Through the fog and rain… We saw the lighthouse - actually the first lighthouse in Oregon was located in the same general vicinity (i.e., it got “eaten” by waves during a particularly violent storm and had to be replaced), the coast guard station, the beach and harbor with lots of waves and some really big dunes… OHV’s (Off Highway Vehicles) are very popular and there are tracks all over the dunes - there was also one “On Highway Vehicle” that was stuck in the sand… Just what the owners were thinking we don’t know!!

Looking for Blobs on the Trip to Crater Lake

After our detour to the dunes, we back-tracked into town and then went inland - following the Umpqua River Valley. Just out of town there was a “wildlife viewing area,” actually very fancy with pull-outs from the road, interpretive signs and yes, there were Roosevelt Elk… Just bedded down in the tall grass 2 - 500 yards from the road… We stopped in several places and managed to get some half-way decent photo’s to add to the collection! Our interim destination was Roseburg, we were looking for some updated information about the condition of the roads to Crater Lake National Park. The North Entrance (where we wanted to go) is “closed in winter” but as usual, “winter” was not specifically defined!! The lady at the tourist information place was “very” helpful, showed us a photo of the current condition of the road near the top of the mountain and gave us so much information that Maria commented that it would take us more time to read all the information than to actually drive to the National Park!! But… among the information were details about waterfalls that were along the road we were going to take… With it bucketing down rain outside we were bound to get soaked walking even 200 yards, so most of them were out of the question. However, there was one falls that were “viewable” from the road - these were our next interim destination!! We found the falls with little difficulty, however, getting photo’s was not necessarily possible from the warm viewing location (I.e., inside the truck!), so Maria put on her wet weather gear and advanced… Unfortunately, the “safe” photo taking location was not deemed adequate… So she (without looking at Carl sitting in the truck) advanced across the wet rocks to a location with better photographic characteristics, where she “got the shot” and was just about to leave when out of the corner of her eye there was this “black streak” against the falls… Yes, it was a fish trying to swim upstream to the spawning grounds… So, if you can imagine… Maria standing stock still, camera extended (thankfully “weather proof”) hoping to catch sight of a fish jumping up the falls AND be quick enough to push the button for the camera at the same time… It was here that Carl found her, slowly getting wetter… However, we did manage to get a kind of photo (left)… If you use your imagination just a little bit!! Regardless of the photo we were both thrilled to have seen the sight - and even see more than one fish make it up the falls… WOW!...

The Road to Crater Lake

Before, during and after the fish episode it was beginning to rain pretty hard… As we climbed slowly higher in the truck this rain turned gradually to snow - these huge wet snowflakes that go “splat” on your windscreen!! The driving conditions were getting steadily worse even though we were driving behind the snow plough; we passed one semi-trailer truck that had stopped to put chains on before we stopped at the turn-off to Diamond Lake… Decisions, decisions…. In the end the decision was made for us, there was a snow plough going down the hill - so we jumped in behind and retraced our steps… But not all the way, on the downward trip the snow gradually stopped falling, until about 1,500 feet below it totally stopped… Again, decisions, decisions… We decided to go for it, turned the truck around and headed back up the mountain - commenting the whole way, that things were not nearly as bad as they had been just 30 minutes previously! We continued up to the North Entrance of the Crater Lake National Park, only to find - yes, you guessed it - that the entrance was closed… Ok, Plan B - take the highway around the Park and come in from the West Entrance… No problems, most of this road was down hill so we were quickly out of the snow zone and just having to deal with wet pavement… However, it was getting towards 5pm… Would the South Entrance be open, and if it was would we get to the visitors’ center before it closed at 5pm?... We made better time than we hoped around the park and started along Highway 62 towards the West Entrance, unfortunately this meant gaining in elevation, so again the roads got worse, with increasing depths of snow… Thankfully, however, it had stopped actually “snowing”… We made the entrance gate at about 4:50 - it was not manned, so we proceeded up the road to the visitors’ center… The road was actually a little better within the park, so we made it - with minutes to spare. Carl stayed with the truck while Maria ran into the visitors’ center, to get the park information, the newspaper and an update as to whether or not we would be able to see the lake… The lake was further up the road and as we had seen for most of the past 2 days there was a fleeting patch of blue… On a more serious note, while at the visitors’ center, Maria found out that there was an 8 year old boy missing within the Park - he had been missing since Saturday, and would have been out in the snow…

Attempting to See the Lake

Ok, we had come this far - we just had to go up to the top of the crater and see if (despite the predictions of the Park Ranger) we could see the lake. So we started up… Yes, more snow, decreasing visibility and some spectacular winter scenes just made for photography!! At the top of the rim, it was kind of disorientating - which way were we supposed to look? We found the turn-around and went back down the mountain to the visitors’ center… only to find the snow plough clearing the roads… we stopped, and for the umpteenth time today considered our options… It looked like it was clearing, but then again we had been chasing patches of blue for nearly 2 days… Nevertheless, up the rim we went… Past the snow sheds for the restrooms, past where we had turned around, to where we estimated a viewing location would be (there were snow covered interpretive signs…), nearly to the resort - all the while not seeing a thing in the direction the Lake “should be.” Maria gets out of the truck, wades through the 8 inch snow to one of the interpretive signs, stares into the fog and “believes” that she can see the lake, but not really!! Disappointed, we start back down the mountain - until at the last possible moment, Maria asks Carl to stop the truck… gets out, runs towards the edge (or where she thinks the edge is) and looks over…

and there, would you believe it, is the lake… True, not very much of it, but the lake nevertheless… Wow!!! Carl braves the snow and comes to see it as well… So, despite our predictions, we actually get to see the lake!

What Next

Ok, we are at over 6,000 feet, the “lodge” closed today, the weather prediction is for more rain/snow tomorrow… what do we do? Go on, or stay in the area hoping to get a better view tomorrow? We decided to go on… following the Rogue River Valley this time down, down, down… We finally get to Grants Pass, find a hotel and crash… It had been a rather eventful day!...

Carl’s Travel Trivia

Yesterday’s Answer: 1540 miles
Today’s Question: How deep is Crater Lake? And for bonus points… It is the Xth deepest lake in the world?

Did we or Did We Not see Crater Lake?