To maximize our time in Crater Lake, we depart by mid morning and arrive at Crater Lake by lunchtime. After lunch in the Lodge, we gear up for a hike that starts right from the back of the lodge.

We hike up to Garfield point (named for a park dude, not the cat or president). It’s 1.7 miles each way and about a thousand feet of elevation gain. It starts at around 7,000 feet though so it’s more challenging than it would be starting at sea level. We tackle it like the veterans we are though and the view from the top is fantastic. I work on taking a huge panorama (that it’s giving me some trouble getting stitched together) and enjoy the view. The hike down takes much less time and we’re back at the room for dinner and showers.

View from Garfield Peak

Since Crater Lake is in the middle of nowhere your dining options are the Lodge restaurant (where we have a reservation for tomorrow), a takeout sandwich, or the buffet restaurant. We go to the buffet restaurant which has decent food and then we return home. While L’ goes to sleep early, I venture to the back of the Lodge to watch the stars. We heard a rumor that the Northern Lights would be visible tonight. I go out with clear instructions to wake L’ if they are in fact visible. Sadly, they are not, but the stars are spectacular because we are at elevation and in the middle of nowhere. You can see the Milky Way (our galaxy, not the candy bar) along with boatloads of stars.   As it starts to get a little cold, I quietly return to the room and go to sleep.  We’ve got a full day exploring Crater Lake tomorrow.

View all the trip photos here:

http://www.sanjoseabrams.com/photos/OregonAugust2010/