Crater Lake – Boundary Springs

We left Ashland on a smoke infested day, in search of sun and cooler temperatures. I chose Boundary Springs because it was certain to be smoke free and most Monday hikers had never been to the source of the Rogue. We were 8 hikers and it took 1 hr 40 min to reach the TH on Hwy 230. We were rewarded with perfect weather, starting at 74 degrees and finishing at 80. It is a short hike of just over 5 miles but with lots of ups and downs so quite a bit of work. The hundreds of logs in the stream had thousands of yellow flowers growing out of the moss they had collected. A beautiful sight in the sun.

We reached the 1st waterfall on the Rogue and then on to the source where we saw a good stream of water coming right out of a hill. There were folks at the source so we returned to the shade by the waterfall for lunch. We met quite a number of people on the way back including Darryl’s neighbors from across the street. They had done a snowshoe hike with us.

We had a climb back up to the cars and headed off to Becky’s, which was full, so we continued on to Phil’s frosty in Shady Cove, where we indulged our inner teenager with ice cream concoctions. Phil’s was busy with the heat but service was quick and the ice cream excellent. I chanced two scoops on my cone but the thought of 3 brought back my last attempt which ended up with quite a mess as it melted.

A good day, smoke free, and with good scenery and the experience of seeing the springs.

Hike Leader: Rich Stickle

Photos By: Barry, John, Rich, Steve