Crater Lake

Six of us headed north to hike from Crater Lake’s lower Visitor’s Center up to the rim on a trail known as the Raven Trail. When we left Ashland it was -5 degrees at the Visitor’s Center, so there was much discussion about how to deal with the cold weather. I keep forgetting that the weather forecasts are predicting the worst possible outcomes but they almost never happen. We arrived to 13 degree weather, sunny skies and no wind.

There was not nearly as much snow as we have seen in past hikes, however we did have 10 inches of new snow on the trail. The hiking conditions were perfect. As we neared the rim the lake views were just incredible. We took our time taking pictures and absorbing the views. Then we headed to the lodge area to find a fully protected lunch spot where the temperature seemed closer to 40 than the expected high temperature of 24 degrees. A couple of Canada Jays and a Raven joined us at the end to complete the entertainment.

We noticed that 6 people had hiked up the backside of Mt. Garfield and then skied down the face, making perfect “S” curves in the powder (check out the picture). We ran into them at the bottom and all seemed very happy with their adventure.

It’s a long drive for a short snowshoe but we all thought it well worth the views on top and experience.

Hike Leader: Keeley

Photos By: Bob, Jerry, Keeley