July 28, 2011 Bluer than blue

Our plans today were to get out early, and go to the ticket concession for the Crater Lake boat tour.  There are a limited number of tickets available the same day, so we wanted to ensure we got them. We arrived at the ticket booth at 8:00, and then doused ourselves with insect repellent to ward of the swarming mosquitoes. After purchasing our tickets, we headed to the Garfield Peak trail. Our intention was to follow the trail for a while, then track back in time to have lunch, then head to the boat launch. The views along the trail were beautiful. On the way back, I slid on the loose gravel on the trail, and ripped the skin off my toe. Thank god, I had tissues in my pocket that I could wedge under my toe that was bleeding profusely. Back at the car, a bandaid took car of the situation.

We ate lunch, and headed to the boat launch. The only way to get to the boat launch is to take a 1.1 mile switchback trail down to the lake. It takes 20 minutes to descend the trail after you find a place to park.

The boat tour of Crater Lake was a pleasant surprise. It was a great way to get a new perspective on what you have only seen from the road that encircles the rim of the crater. The ranger that narrated the tour was very informative and interesting.  And the views from the lake were fantastic. You would think that the lake that appears SO blue from a distance would look more "normal" up close. But it is as blue up close as it is from a distance. And that blue is not just from a reflected sky. It is perfectly clear. The ranger told us that they check the lake's clarity once a year, and there is a test they perform that involves dropping a black and white patterned disk into the water. Thet then lower it into the lake and mark the point at which they can last see it. At its best, they could see the disk at 140 feet under the surface of the water. Now THAT's clear.At its deepest, the lake is 1,923 feet deep. By contrast, at Lake Tahoe, they perform the same test, and the vanishing point is 60 feet. After the 2 hour tour, we started up the "magic mile" as the ranger put it. "Magic", because what is really only about a mile long trail back to the parking lot, seems like 13 miles. The ascent is steep, and the switchbacks many. And the mosquitoes were on their way back for the evening.

We enjoyed a beer when back at our motel room. We then set out to the restaurant across the street that we went to yesterday. The food and the music were just as good as they were last night. The picture above shows the restaurant. What a great little place.