Day 127 - Crater Lake

Whew!! I finally made it to the famous Crater Lake, nearly 130 days into this grand voyage. A jewel of our park system, Crater Lake is one of the deepest lakes in the world, set in a collapsed- volcano crater, and having stunningly blue, pristine water. Here she is:

That pano was actually taken on the last stop of the day, but it was too good to wait. Wizard Island is a new volcano crater that pokes 350 feet above the water's surface. Here was me after first seeing the lake in person.

A 33 mile road circles the lake and takes you to various breath-taking views.

Evidence of volcanic eruptions were visible throughout. These nearby pinnacles were formed during the Mount Mazama eruption that formed Crater Lake 7,700 years ago.

But the most fun was had hiking down 800 vertical feet along the Cleetwood Trail to Cleetwood Cove, then promptly passing by the onlooking crowds to join the handful of brave souls cliff jumping into the icy blue waters of Crater Lake.

After drying off, I completed the circle drive by hiking up to the watchman lookout, where that great panoramic photo of the lake was taken. Amazing view. Then I drove northwest for an hour in search of a BLM campspot. The forest narrowed into a canyon, making finding a level side road problematic, but I eventually found a side road and a great secluded boondocking spot.

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Day 171 - JMT Guitar Lake

Wow, was it cold this morning. After waking up and eating breakfast, we packed up quickly and found this scenic sunspot to warm our bones. We had a short eight mile hike to Guitar Lake today, the last viable campsite before the five mile hike to the 14,505 foot-high Mount Whitney summit. We stopped at this lovely meadow and looked for bears. We only saw deer but were able to enjoy the incredible peace of the far mountain range. Steady hiker traffic, the most of the entire trip, including one group of twelve elder hikers, passed us as we rested, and jumped! Views of Mount Whitney finally came into view at Timberline Lake, a quaint lake where camping was unfortunately forbidden. We passed a group of twenty Taiwanese hikers. The summit of Mount Whitney looked heavily defended when viewed from below. We were going to wake up tomorrow at 230am and hike up to the summit for sunrise-on-the-top-of-the-world*. The thought of this dark task was a bit foreboding. We made it to Guitar Lake by

Day 172 - JMT Mount Whitney

Our day began in silence, at 315am in pursuit of the summit. We walked carefully, looking for slick, sandy rocks and icy sections--not wanting to fall. Hiking along a cliff edge in total darkness was thrilling, vividly black and white. By 5am, we had reached the three mile marker and the turnoff up to Whitney summit. We removed the heavy items from our bags and set off towards the summit sunrise. The trail was spectacular, a special creation of this nation, winding from one side of the mountain to the other, going down and around one side before coming up to another, creating anticipation with each turn. Looking back, the sloping ridges caught the early sunset delicately. As we hiked along the two mile upper trail, the views east would open up for the narrowest of moments. This opening was my favorite. 14,000 foot cathedrals of nature thrusted towards the heavens at each turn. The summit was almost in sight, the highest peak in the lower 48 states nearly attained, the end of our 2

Day 170 - JMT Forrester Pass

The mountains had a surreal glow this morning as we climbed up towards the 13,200 foot high Forrester Pass. One of the wonderful things about the mountains is that they change appearance as the sun changes height, creating a movie-like experience as you walk. I felt so free and happy this morning--just in love with this light. After sixty minutes of walking, we stopped in the first sunny spot we could find to thaw out and rest. Another hiker came bustling up the trail behind us and stopped at the sunspot to shed a layer of clothing. Sly was a Canadian hiker, just turned 40, who seemed happy to see us. We struck up a conversation about travels and when we pushed off Sly asked if he could join us. We said yes of course. We hiked quickly up the trail, reaching a high plateau with epic alpine views. Selfie time! We skirted around a high alpine lake and then went up a ridge line ever further higher. We were at 12,000+ feet now and the world began to look small yet vast.

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