Thursday was a beautiful day near Gold Hill, OR where we're camping. We're about 70 miles from Crater Lake NP, and this seemed to be the ideal day to go. The drive up was beautiful - passing a reservoir with huge lake marina, and pine forests. We entered thru the south entrance, and stopped at the Visitor's Center to get our maps and information. There we learned that only the west rim of the crater drive was open, as crews are still clearing the roads on the north and west sides. There are 30-50 ft. snow drifts left to clear, and most trails are also closed because of snow obscuring the markers, etc. With budget cuts, the park was unable to hire additional crews to clear the roads, and no overtime. It takes 8 hours to clear 1/4 mile!
A massive volcanic eruption 7,700 years ago left a deep basin in the place where a mountain peak once stood. Centuries of rain and snow filled the basin, forming a deep blue lake whose waters are of unmatched color and clarity. It's the deepest lake in the US. The lake is 6.02 miles across, 1943 ft. deep. The park gets 94 in. of snow in Dec., 104 in. in Jan., and 84 in. each in Feb and Mar. No wonder those drifts are so big!
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