mattbell

Crater Lake is one hell of an impressive place. It's the remnant of a volcano that was so massive that it blew off numerous cubic miles of itself in a single cataclysmic explosion around 6000 years ago. (I wonder what Bible literalists think when they read about things like this... perhaps they shake their heads at the obvious stupidity and arrogance of those so-called scientists) The scale is mind-blowing -- looking at it, I can think "this used to be a mountain, and a center piece that's a mile high, five miles wide, and six miles long just vanished, leaving this hole. The water of the lake is extraordinarily clear.

The site was made a national park over a century ago, and bears the hallmark of many years of planning for tourist-friendliness. It is a huge tourist draw despite its remoteness from major cities. Unlike Castle Crags, the hikes are easy and well protected; the coddled tourists are encouraged to enjoy the fantastic views in a limited number of easily accessible locations.

Yes, you.

There was one spot where we could hike down into the lake and jump into its almost drink-ably pristine blue waters. I hadn't planned on doing this, but the cliff tempted me, so I made do with some boxer shorts as marginal swimming trunks.