Learning to Go With the Flow in Southern Oregon
If I’m truly honest with myself, the whole trip was put together rather haphazardly…
I guess it all started when I found out that I would have Memorial Day off from work. As I’m in my first year of working a true full-time job (I worked 6 years part-time at a restaurant and 1 as a tech at a PT clinic), the concept of holidays and vacation days is one I’m still grasping. I also work for a hospital system so many holidays don’t necessarily guarantee me time off. Regardless, when I found out that I had a three-day weekend, I knew immediately I had to jump on it.
Crater Lake had been on my bucket list for the Pacific NorthWest probably since before I actually started keeping the destinations in a Note in my iCloud. It’s a site that I’ve known about for so long that I can’t even pin point where or when I first heard about it. I can vaguely recall seeing a picture of the lake with Wizard’s Peak rising from its depths in a textbook, maybe in 5th or 6th grade, but I can’t know for sure. I am pretty sure that I thought the lake was created by something falling from space though. I’m sure imagined it earned it’s name-sake because something collided with the Earth and created a massive dent in the ground. I don’t think it ever occurred to me that the lake formed drop-by-drop following the eruption of a massive volcano… In fact, I don’t think I really related volcanoes to the west coast until after I moved to Washington. Volcanoes I always associated with Hawai’i, with red-hot magma spewing from the ground. The fact that the upper left corner of my country was formed by the ancient forces of fire and ice had never occurred to me.
Assemble the Troops
Nearly as soon as Crater Lake popped into my mind, I sent out a text to few of my friends scattered about Northern California and Southern Oregon: Annie, Chloe, and John, to inquire whether or not they had to work the upcoming holiday. Upon learning their schedules were also clear, the destination was decided; I quickly set to work on finding us all a place to stay.
Since moving to Washington (and really since getting a job) I’ve started acquiring quite a bit of camping supplies and haven’t had much opportunity to use it, not to mention I brought plenty out with me from West Virginia. As the weather had been getting warmer, I was itching to break out my gear. Not far into my Internet search I learned that Rim Drive around the top of Crater Lake was still mostly under several feet of snow and that the campsites in the park hadn’t yet opened for the season. Expanding my search a bit farther I found an available site near Chiloquin, Oregon, what appeared to be the closest town east of the lake. With some confirmation from the crew, I booked the site for two nights, marked it in my calendar, and put the trip to the back of my mind. My friend Jenn was visiting the weekend before and I needed to prepare for her arrival.
Departure Date Approaches
In the week prior to the camping trip, well-laid plans began to crumble. John had discovered there was a hot spring about an hour and a half from Crater Lake and suggested we trade out a night for a site a little farther north. This sounded like a fantastic idea and we all jumped on it, no big deal. I had thought my friend, Hayley, from Yakima was going to come along, but very understandably she needed a weekend to catch up on life. Again, this was no big deal, I’d driven through Oregon multiple times alone at this point, and I found a really cool lake near my booked hotel in Madras, OR to check out Saturday morning before making my way south.
In addition, the status of my friends Annie and Chloe in California was up in the air. Meanwhile John was potentially bringing along a friend but couldn’t say for sure. So now while I was trying to rearrange our campsites, I also didn’t know exactly how many people would be camping each night. Ultimately I decided to worry about that day of, but by the time I arrived at work Friday morning, I had half convinced myself that I would be doing the entire weekend alone.
Sunny Skies, Mountain Peaks, and Blue Waters
Departing work under sunny skies I began my drive south along a familiar stretch of road through the Yakima Nation Tribal Lands. Mount Adams was shining in the distance and was a prelude to the weather I would be blessed with for the remainder of my drive. Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson followed suit until I arrived before sunset to my hotel room in Madras. I enjoyed a quick dinner via recommendation from the night manager and then a dip in the hot tub before a cozy night in the hotel bed. I savored the comforts of the mattress and a hot shower, knowing that I would not see these luxuries for the next couple days.
Upon waking the next morning, I set out for The Cove Pallisades State Park, excited to bust out my inflatable paddleboard. Mount Jefferson greeted me in the late morning light and I felt my spirits soar as I laid eyes upon the lake set deep in a canyon, a towering waterfall plunging toward the blue water below. Nearly all clouds soon left the sky as I soaked up the sun and took in my breathtaking surroundings. Birds were calling out to each other, roosting high in the cliffs above me as fish leaped out of the water to catch the bugs flying above the surface. I spent an hour or two drifting along before deciding to check out the waterfall I had stopped to admire on my way in from below.
I could have stayed on that lake in the sun all day, but I had many more things to see! As I set out again, one by one the volcanoes passed by my windows: Three Finger Jack, Mount Washington, The Sisters, Broken Top, Mount Bachelor. I stopped to take in the views every chance I got. I’m sure I was causing road rage in many of the drivers behind me as I kept my eyes peeled for any kind of pull-out or viewpoint along the side of the road. My favorite by far was Peter Ogden State Park, which included a series of bridges and sights of multiple peaks through the clouds.
A Murky Night Turns Into A Muddy Morning
As I approached my campsite I began getting frantic texts from Annie and Chloe about the weather. They had decided to come along after all and had even picked up a friend, Jack, along the way. They reported to me that they had been driving in a downpour for the last couple hours with no end in sight. Dreading camping in that kind of weather they told me of a hotel not too far from where we were meant to stay. I was a little confused by their report, I’d been in some on-and-off rain showers, but my weather app was saying the campsite should be dry at least long enough to set up my tent. I soon discovered that the hotel they had scouted was 80 miles away from me. “What area are you guys searching for hotels? Where are you?” I asked them frantically.
We quickly discovered that Annie and Chloe had mistakenly headed to the campsite I had booked for Sunday rather than Saturday. As I had already half expected to stay alone that night, I wasn’t too concerned, and we made a plan to meet up at Crater Lake at 10 a.m. the next morning.
I was able to get my tent up before the rain set in and it wasn’t too long before I was sleeping soundly. There was another guy with me on the site, but we were only able to exchange names before the rain started and we both retreated into our shelters. I awoke once to add an additional layer to my wardrobe but didn’t think much of the cold. I finally rose in the morning to a light layer of snow on my tent. Quickly I bundled up the tent and threw it in the car without putting it away properly and set off, making what I believed to be good time.
And I would have made good time, too! Had it not been for the mud…
I noticed I had a little trouble backing my car out of its parking spot, but I believed that to be due to the relatively rough terrain I was parked on. I drive a 2011 Ford Escape, not an off-road vehicle by any means, but still AWD and more rugged than any other vehicle I’ve ever had. Make note here that my campsite was parked down by the river, a beautiful site, but I’d had to take a dirt switch-back road to get down to it. I was soon to find out that this switch-back road was no longer dirt, but a thick clay-like mud that stuck onto my tires in a layer an inch or two thick. The first two sections of the road gave me little problem, but on the third and final section I felt my tires lose all traction. I allowed my car to back down to the closest turn and made a second attempt with the same result.
Finally I admitted defeat and got out of my car. I inspected my tires to discover that the mud was impeding not only my traction, but also the ability for the wheels to turn properly. The mud had worked itself behind my back tires, between the tire and one of the metal bars that held on the wheel. I’d seen snow have this impact on my car before and reasoned if I could remove most of the mud I’d be able to make it up the hill. The only problem was: I didn’t have anything to remove the mud with. I frantically searched my surroundings and found a flat-ish rock that I began to use to scrape off the mud.
Luckily for me, by this time my site-mate had decided to head out as well. As he drove up behind me I quickly ran to his car and informed him of my situation. He reported he didn’t have much experience in off-road driving, but he did have a shovel in the back of his car. I spent another 10-15 minutes clearing as much of the mud off my tires as I could; still having to stick my hand in behind my rear tires to scoop out mud I couldn’t reach with the shovel. Finally when I was confident I had taken off as much of the mud as I could, I returned the shovel, said goodbye and thank you, got in back the car, and made my final and successful attempt at ascent.
The Beauty Behind the Fog
I was on the road at last! Headed toward Crater Lake and all of my friends, finally! Unfortunately, I was running about 45 minutes behind at this point. To make matters worse: when I reached an area in which I actually had cell service I couldn’t get ahold of anyone….
This lack of service in the Pacific NorthWest is something I’m getting used to. I thought the cell reception in West Virginia was spotty, but then I moved out here! Once I cross into the tree line of the mountains, I’m lucky to get a few bars. Now don’t get me wrong, my ability to plan my stops and save offline maps has been greatly improving! This was exactly why we’d set a meeting time and place, plus I figured I’d make up some of the time on the drive and they’d totally wait half an hour or so, no big deal.
And once again, it would have been no big deal, had it not been for the traffic…
I headed toward the mountains that surrounded Crater Lake National Park under cloudy skies, driving quickly but taking in all of my surroundings. I knew I was running late but couldn’t resist making a few stops: a lookout toward where Mount Mazama would have stood, canyons formed form the lava flow 7,000 years prior, and a sign for The Lake of the Woods (my Lake O’Woods back home is a very special and important place). I’ve become notorious for adding hours to my trips thanks to stops along the road like this, but I had no plans to visit the area again! Surely I could spare a few moments for possibly once-in-my-lifetime experiences.
I approached the Park gate just after 10:30 am, confident that I would soon find Annie, Chloe, and Jack. However as I turned the corner I saw a large line of cars waiting to get through with only one lane and one park ranger accepting fees. My heart sank and I looked around frantically, hoping by chance they were also running late or they were waiting by the gate where I’d spot them. Alas, no such luck, and I waited over 45 minutes to finally enter the park. To make matters worse, I saw a sign posted on the ranger’s window: No visibility of Crater Lake at this time.
When I finally arrived at the lower Visitor’s Center around 11:30 am, I’d prepared myself for the worst. I figured that when I couldn’t find my friends at this Visitor’s Center, I’d check it out, go up and see the lake (if I could see it), and then just make my way to the campsite. But as luck would have it, I entered the parking lot and spied Annie and Chloe coming out of the building! I held my hand out my window and called their names in excited desperation and relief; I had found them!
We all hugged and expressed our relief to be finally reunited, I was formally introduced to Jack, and then we all started discussing the lack of lake visibility. Annie, Chloe, and Jack reported that they had already watched the educational video in the Visitor’s Center and they were hungry. We decided the three of them would head back down the mountain to the restaurant at the entrance and I would watch the video then meet up with them there, before we would all go up together and attempt to see the lake.
As I sat waiting to learn about the incredible sight that is Crater Lake, a Park Ranger appeared to introduce the video. She asked the members of the audience to raise their hands if they had been up to Crater Lake: three people put their hands up. She then asked everyone to raise their hands if they had seen the lake: all three people put their hands down. My heart sank slightly as the Ranger started the video, and then sank even more as it played. Even on film, Crater Lake was breath taking, and I was already so disappointed that I’d driven all this way and likely wouldn’t see it.
I left the Visitors Center feeling inspired, but not very hopeful, and met the others for lunch. I shared with them the news of the audience’s interaction with the Park Ranger, but we all agreed that we might as well drive up to the lake anyway. We piled into my car and headed up what remained of Mount Mazama once more. The clouds were hanging low over many of the trees, things weren’t looking very promising, but then we came to the crest and we saw it! A glimpse of the water through the crowds of people! We all screamed excitedly, I think even Jack; we were going to see Crater Lake!
Scanning frantically for a parking spot in the crowded lot, we found one and ran up the snow bank to finally set our eyes on the view. Created over hundreds of years following the eruption of the ancient Mount Mazama, Crater Lake spans 5 by 6 miles and is 1,942 feet at its deepest point. It’s the deepest lake in the United States. No rivers or streams flow into or out of the caldera, water levels of the lake are maintained by precipitation, evaporation, and seepage. And on top of all that, its waters are some of the clearest and purest in the world!
The four of us took in as much of the lake as we could, taking pictures and staring into the vista, and then we set off. We not only had much more to explore, we also had more friends to find! John and Jaclyn were somewhere in Umpqua National Forest…
Chasing Waterfalls
I followed Annie’s car out of the National Park and toward our next destination. We decided to make a pit stop at Diamond Lake, admiring the view from the docks and grabbing some supplies for a campfire later, trying our best not to swallow any of the large bugs swarming around us. Annie, Chloe, and Jack, who had stayed here the night before, quickly informed me that the insects were not mosquitoes, but had been introduced because they eat mosquitoes. Indeed, I didn’t see any actual mosquitoes around, but the swarms of bugs had us sprinting between the buildings and cars with our mouths clamped shut, sunglasses on to keep them out of our eyes.
We decided from Diamond Lake we would check out Clearwater Falls and then head to Umpqua’s Last Resort to make camp before checking out the remaining waterfalls. Clearwater Falls was the smallest on our list, but still every bit worth the stop! The water cascaded gracefully over moss colored rocks for 30 beautiful feet.
About 10 minutes after we left Clearwater Falls, I realized we had failed to get gas at Diamond Lake. I quickly signaled to Annie to pull over and we discussed our predicament. I also learned that they had been able to get ahold of John and Jacyln; they had reached our campsite, set up camp, and were headed out on a hike. Knowing the pair were content, we all decided to double back to Diamond Lake for gas before continuing with our original plan.
Watson Falls and Toketee Falls are both beyond words. At 272 feet and 113 feet, respectively, water impressively towers over basalt lava flows at both these sites. We were able to take a trail almost under Watson, soaked to the core by the mist while at Toketee we were contained to a platform in the trees across the canyon, but I tried my best to take in all that I could with each.
The perfect day concluded in a perfect evening around a campfire, with friends new and old toasting to each other and the experiences we had shared. We ate, drank, and were merry, and tried our best not to keep up the whole campground. Before long we crawled into our tents, alarms set for sunrise so that we could undertake our final quest of the weekend.
Misty Mountain Soak
I awoke to birds singing well before I began hearing the sound of the alarms. I drifted in and out of sleep for who knows how long before Annie and Chloe finally started to stir around 6 a.m. We packed up our gear in relative silence as we came to terms with the fact that it was morning, our bodies moving in a robot-like fashion.
When driving to Toketee Falls the previous evening, we had seen a sign for Umpqua Hot Springs on the same road. So, without cell service once again, we set off in that direction and assumed we would easily find the parking lot. After we had been on the foggy road for about 7 miles (the sign said the hot springs would be in 6), I signaled to Annie that we should stop and reassess. John and Jaclyn had a map that assured me we were in the general area, but had no real idea where we were in relation to said map. We tried driving a little farther down the road and then, luckily someone got cell service; we were turned around and back on track!
Despite our lack of navigation skills, we still arrived at the parking lot by 8 a.m. and set out on the misty trail. Upon reaching the end of the trail we spotted several blue pools at the edge of a steep cliff, a few individuals scattered among them. We stripped excitedly, picked a pool, and set in to enjoy the view and the last hour or two of each other’s company.
Though we could have soaked in the blue pools forever, but as more people completed the trail and the hot springs started to fill, we reasoned it was time to head out. We all had to drive home so that we could rejoin the working forces the next day. Goodbye hugs were exchanged with Annie, Chloe, and Jack and then John, Jaclyn, and I set out for one more Oregon waterfall: Column Falls.
The trail was wet and mossy, just as the one to the hot springs had been. We passed two other waterfalls before we reached Column Falls, a thin curtain of water cascading down another basalt cliff. I roamed within the trees, admiring the falls and the river, with the hot springs we had just visited across and on the cliff above.
As I walked I reflected quietly on how I had handled all the unexpected pieces of the weekend, a little proud. While I have a pretty Type-A personality, I’ve been allowing myself lately to loosen control on my plans and learn to go with the flow, enjoy the moment more. When we reached the parking lot for the final time I gave my last round of hugs and set out of the forest once more and back to my desert home, already dreaming of my next adventure…
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade wind in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover
Mark Twain
Enjoy this post? Check out more photos from this trip here!