Breathtaking – in more ways than one! At 7,100 feet above sea level, my morning run was even more challenging than normal, as my lungs were literally screaming for air. To compensate, the views along the rim of Crater Lake were stunning – Tidy Bowl-like sapphire blue. Water color we’ve only seen off the island of Capri and in Bora-Bora.
As I quickly approach ten years of my running streak, this is the highest elevation I’ve navigated without skis. Steamboat Springs earlier this year was at 6900 feet but also complicated by below-zero temperatures and icy conditions. In sharp contrast, today it was blue skies and 50 degrees with very little wind. The winding trail from the rustic Crater Lake Lodge was up & down and only partially paved. As a result, I somehow huffed and puffed my way through 3.1 miles. It felt good “Just to be Done.” (See Post #581).
We had arrived the night before with expectations of a romantic, little cabin on the water. Instead, it was a run-down structure in the middle of the woods with two tiny double beds and a view of the campground. We were fortunate to be able to eventually switch to a charming room at the Lodge, built in 1915, with the view we first expected and a queen-sized bed for more comfort. The bathroom featured a claw-foot tub that reminded my wife of her childhood. The room of course was twice as much, but well worth the money and hassle.
After the morning run, we then drove half-way around the lake and hiked a mile down to one of only two boat docks on Crater Lake. The other is on Wizard Island, the “volcano-within-the-volcano.” My wife packed a picnic for the lake tour so I felt like a pack mule lugging the heavy supplies down the path to the boat. I was hopeful it would all be in our stomachs before we made the difficult trek back up. The experience reminded me of our recent trip to Santorini, Greece, except they thankfully provided three options besides leg power to get you back to the top – donkey, gondola, or bus. Between the thin air, and the steep dusty trail, we were both spent for the day, and a nap soon followed.
The dock was 15 miles of curvy road to the other side of the lake from the Lodge, the only structure on the 33-mile perimeter. On our boat tour, my wife was particularly excited by a Bald Eagle sighting. It was interesting to listen to the on-board Park Ranger explain the volcanic time-line of Mt. Mazama that blew her top nearly 8000 years ago. If you could imagine looking a mile straight up into the blue sky overhead, that was where her peak once stood. The remaining caldera is now filled with nearly 2000 feet deep of pristine, impossibly blue water.
We had two mediocre dinners and breakfast at the only dining choice in the National Park, but it was at least convenient to our room. My legs were stiff and sore on our last day, so I limited my run to just over a mile, the absolute minimum distance to maintain my streak, discouraged further by the altitude. I’ll be glad to get back to 500 feet for my normal run tomorrow morning. Due to highway traffic there and back, it took over 5-hours each way, so I’m glad to be home for a few weeks.
