Crater Lake

Crater Lake, Oregon

In the southern part of the state of Oregon, there lies a gem of a place. Crater Lake National Park.
This place is amazing. A huge volcano that collapsed on itself, and then over centuries, filled up with water. Now it is near 2000 Ft deep in places and crystal clear blue. Rim Road, the road that circles the top of the cliffs around the lake is not for the weak of heart. Shoulders have broken off and cliffs remain, tour buses speed around the road, with drivers that I am sure have done it many times. But for Jamie and I, nerve- racking.
There is one part of the lake that is accessible, but not by vehicle. It requires a hike down the inside of the old volcano. A switchback trail. So we parked the car, grabbed the camera and our towels and went out down the hill. Down was hard, we laughed and talked about how up was going to kill us. At the bottom there is a small dock, there are only a few boats allowed on the lake, and there boats are usually heli- lifted in. Memory is shady but I am pretty sure there is no gas burning engines allowed on the lake. Electric only I think. It is completely unpolluted. No plants can be seen growing in the water and we were told by the warden that there is a few fish, only due to stocking, and they are not re-stocking, let the population do its thing. So beautiful from the same level as the water, seeing it from the cliffs above is hardly the same as being on the shore of it. It was Mid- July, and there was still snow along the banks. We dipped our toes in and instantly had goose bumps. But this is not a deterrent from getting in. A few people had gathered around to watch, to see if we would actually get in. So if course.. To save face, we had to. Stripped down to our swim suits and launched ourselves of the dock. The water is so deep, everywhere, and so clear, that is really quite scary floating in it. No idea how far the bottom is and what lies below. I felt very small and insignificant at that point. The time in the water did not last long at all. In fact I am sure we were in and out again before a full 2 minutes had passed. Standing on the dock with a small cheer from the crowd.[ like 5 people] Bend over to pick up my shorts and uncovered the camera. Realization = no one took a picture. We were not about to leave without a picture of us swimming in crater lake. So we stripped down for the second time and hauled it back into the water. An onlooker took the photos for us. The second time you would think would be less cold, but I can't say that I really felt it was less cold. Still gasping for air cold. I took a drink too. Claims from the warden said that the water was so unpolluted and clear that it was safe to drink. That's all the info I need. And it was indeed pretty tasty water, kind of sweet in a way. Like how I think water would taste after being stranded in the desert.
The hike back up was horrible. Wet shoes, wet shorts, wet towels, frozen muscles. By the time we got to the top [ after many bench breaks] we were so hot and exhausted, all we wanted to do was run back down and jump in. We didn't, we sauntered back to the car to continue our trip.