Crater Lake

Crater Lake
What a place. We’ve been here before, but it never ceases to amaze me: the deep, intense blue of the lake, contrasted against the white snow lining the caldera with the towering green pines leaning towards the basin and then if that’s not enough, the remains of the volcano, towering black jagged basalt. Of course the blue sky, the white clouds and themountains in the distance make it postcardesque (better than a postcard).
When we arrived we just gazed. It always makes me smile when I get to a place like this. I feel like the luckiest person in the world for getting the opportunity to actually be in such beauty. We quickly checked in to the lodge so we could get out hiking before dinner. The lodge itself has been nicely redone (in 1995 they completed major renovation. The lodge was literally falling apart. One wing had been condemned as unsafe. Engineers believed it would literally fall off its foundation, taking the rest of the lodge with it. It had been built around 1915 by some really bad construction guys (not the people who made the Chateau in Oregon Caves, which apparently fell off its foundation in an flood and was stillin such good shape,they just popped it back on). And, the Lodge had been badly deteriorating since the 1960’s. In fact, the park service was going to demolish it but the resistance to demolishment was so strong, they decided to preserve it. And, it seems well worth it. It’s an expensive night, but the lodge does add to the beauty; it doesn’t detract like it’s sister Manzanita (sp?). Inside, you are greeted by a fireplace and beautiful wood floors, the entrance hall’s floor, in fact, is inlaid wood in a beautiful pattern. The staff here are not as friendly as at the Chateau (something I’ve found to be the case at many Xanterra lodges—perhaps the training trains all the friendliness out of them) but they check us in and we are sent up to our second floor, deluxe lake view room.
This is a splurge, but again, it is so worth it. The room overlooks the lake from all its windows and we have to stop and gaze in awe again before we head out for our hike. Thank heavens for molten lava. Volcanoes seem to form some fantastic geologic formations which we get to thoroughly enjoy. Wouldn’t it be boring to live in a country without natural disasters in our history!
We decide to climb the nearby Garfield mountain (not sure if that name is correct) but it does begin with a G. The trail starts out to the north of the hotel and goes over some snow before it starts climbing. The views over the crater to our left are incredible and we stop lots to look and take pictures. The mountain is actually the remaining side of the volcano.