Crater Lake

Iceberg Lake

~ randyaa ~ 1 Comment

It just wouldn’t be right to go to the backpacking paradise that is Glacier National Park without doing some hiking.  To that end we decided to hike the 10 miles (round trip) to Iceberg lake.  The trail starts near Many Glacier Hotel which happens to be on the opposite side of the park from where we were staying, a mere 2 hours drive over the Going to the Sun road.  There was a Ranger guided hike at 8:30 in the morning so we went for that.

flowersOf course, the scenery from the road was beautiful but we also saw plenty of animals.  A herd of Elk were grazing in a field and 2 Coyotes were hunting mice or rabbits or something.  When we got to the trail head, we were a few minutes late so the Ranger and the group had already started off.  Not a big deal, we’d just meet them on the trail.  We grabbed our packs and off we went.  First thing we see? A bear, just a black bear but only about 50 ft off the trail and very startling.  Then we caught up to the group about a tenth of a mile in.  The group with the Ranger was about 25 strong and included an 80 something year old man and his family.  He had hiked this same trail about 30 years earlier and was looking to see how things had changed (or remained the same).

Iceberg LakeAbout a mile in we took a break and the Ranger started a game featuring the local flora.  She’d tell the person immediately behind her the name of some wild flower and that person would tell everyone that passed the name of the flower.  Then she’d tell the next person… and so on.  It was fun!  There were so many different flowers, we cycled through everyone about twice and only covered about half of them!

As with everywhere we’ve been, the scenery was amazing throughout the entire hike.  The hike itself was incredibly rewarding and the lake was the prettiest lake this side of Crater Lake.  I can now say I’ve stood on an Iceberg for the first time, although Rachel was afraid to jump across the small gap of glacier runoff water to join me.  I have to admit, the thought it would get bumped and float out into the lake leaving me stranded was definitely there.

A hike back, another bear and a restful evening.  A great day in Glacier!

Crater Lake National Park

~ randyaa ~ 1 Comment

deerWe headed to Crater Lake National Park early Monday morning from Bend Oregon.  To get there we took the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway which circles Mount Bachelor along alpine lakes and meadows.  It took longer than necessary, but we’re out here for the scenery right?  We saw great views of snow capped mountains, Deer (likely Blacktail, a sub-species of Mule Deer), old lava flows and beautiful lakes and meadows. If you’ve got the time it has to be the best way to get to Crater Lake.

Once we were through the byway, Crater was only about another hour or so.  Knowing that we’d be facing hefty prices for food and drinks once in the park (which were certainly confirmed, $9 for a cold 6 inch ham & swiss sandwich!?), we stopped at a convenience store and grabbed some snakes and liquid.

craterOnce you enter the park, the first view of the actual lake is about 9 miles in past a pumice desert and some beautiful scenes of snow capped mountains.  I knew to expect beautiful blue water, but I was still shocked when we finally walked to the rim and looked in for the first time.  The landscape in Crater Lake National Park is quite possibly the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen.  This is very cliche of scenic landscapes, but honestly pictures cannot do it justice, it’s just something you have to see to appreciate.

We drove the rim road stopping at several scenic overlooks, took a quick break at the visitors center, and took a short hike which we thought was going to lead us to a lookout tower.  Unfortunately, we missed a turn due to some snow on the trail and ended up hiking along the rim trail for a ways until we reached a beautiful overlook and realized we were on the wrong trail.  We spent about 4 hours in the park and then headed back to Portland.  I could have spent all day there (all week!) but Tess and Roger had to fly out in the morning so we had to get back to Portland so they could catch their flight.

On the way back we took the Rogue Umqua Scenic Byway.  Another absolutely gorgeous drive, although I was the only one awake to enjoy it.  We took no fewer than 3 different Scenic Byways on our short trip to Crater Lake, and we could have taken more had we really tried.  Oregon truly is a beautiful state everywhere you look.