Crater Lake and Upper Rogue Gorge

Crater Lake was a highlight of my trip, though I must advise never planning a trip to Crater Lake before mid-July because earlier than that is not yet "the season." Outside of "the season," very little is open. The boats do not run on the lake, the roads are all closed on the east side of the park, and only three miles of hiking trails are available to visitors. They had two of their blue tour boats moored tantalizingly near shore, and they were conducting research trips and training new guides, but we tourists were not allowed in the boats.

We hiked two of the three open miles of trails; the third followed the road we were driving on, so we felt it was unnecessary. The first trail ran up the side of Garfield Peak until it reached a spot where the snow hadn't melted yet. We got some very nice views of the lake, although everything was hazy because of the California wildfires. The Rim Village is at 7,044 feet, and the full 1.5-mile hike up Garfield Peak would add 1,010 feet of elevation.

After the walk, we ate lunch at the park restaurant, which was pretty good, though not worth going out of one's way for. They keep limited hours, and they only serve breakast during official breakfast time, so R. did not get to have eggs Benedict. It would be a good idea to call ahead for their hours, which appear to vary.

We took Cleetwood Trail down to the shore of the lake. Crater Lake is typically about 37 degrees, which made it surprising to us that the mosquitoes were both numerous and ravenous along the entire trail. If it had not been for the mosquitos, we might have stayed another hour or so.

Since the water is so cold that no one can stay in for very long, the park service does not restrict swimming, and many people took the plunge into the icy waters. We merely dipped our feet and hands in, however. It's also interesting to know that unlimited fishing is encouraged in Crater Lake. No fish are native to the lake, but some years ago, someone decided it would be cool to add fish. These days the prevailing thought is that turning a national treasure into a stock pond is not desirable, and the park service would like to get rid of the fish. The fish continue to thrive, and people continue to eat them.

Many posted signs warn people that Cleetwood Trail is "strenuous and steep," so I was expecting at least some scrambling over rocks, but it was nothing except highly civilized switchbacks. It was exposed and hot, and we took a lot of stops for me to take pictures, but even small children had no real trouble with the trail.

Since we did not spend the full day at Crater Lake, I talked R. into driving the long way home so we could see the gorge of the Upper Rogue River. We both liked that a lot; the Rogue takes its rushing seriously and has carved an impressive little gorge. Our last stop was Mill Falls; at that point we were both hungry and wanted to go straight to dinner, but instead we went to Mill Falls because we each thought the other person wanted to go there. Later we could not agree on whose idea it was. However, the falls were lovely.