Crater Lake and Prospect, Oregon

July 8, 2009

The Prospect RV Park is 25 miles southwest of Crater Lake and right next to the Rogue River. We set out for some major geezer-type hiking. These forests are mixed pine and deciduous trees. We kept spotting a tree that in Texas I would call Manzanita, only huge. It has the distinctive pink/red trunk with papery peeling bark. To the internet. It’s a relative, the Pacific Coast Madrone.

We spent a lot of time along the Rogue River and finally got to go fishing. It took a bit, but Russell caught 5 very nice rainbow trout for the grill. YUM! Jean, one of our neighbors, came over for inspection, “You guys are NOT camping!” This may have been a complement. We did have a nice spread of fish, Caesar salad, table cloth, but no china on the park table.

We met several very nice neighbors. There was Jerry and Jeri, a nearly retired couple who are approaching full time RVing. What fun to feel like experts! Jean and Dave spend every summer at this park and provided a wealth of information about the area. We also enjoyed the managers, full timers who had even spent time at Buckhorn in Kerrville.

I have to say more about the Rogue. We hiked along the shore from both east and west on different days. We were driving on the main highway when we happened on the Rogue Gorge, a lovely cascade of white water that drops several layers over, around and through lave, and more lava tubes. Further down river is a lava tube in the river path that forms a natural bridge. We approached it expecting some arching structure over head. What we found was more lava beds with water rushing through the middle forming an underground river for that stretch of about 10 yards. The tame water entering the passage explodes into a grotto on the opposite side. It’s an amazing blend and crash of forces. At the Gorge, we met the living tree stump. This 2-3 foot remains of logging has been supported through the root system of this tree family. It has no leaves or branches, but it has grown bark over the ax scar, forming a living skin. With its intersecting root system, these trees are fed by the same roots that fed other trees long gone. Would this make them even older that the Sequoias?

Crater Lake, oh my! The drive in is long and largely uneventful unless you think about the fact that the road is climbing a volcano. This baby was huge! Its destructive eruptions impacted the entire continent for years, fortunately before people were here to observe the event. Multiple vents opened around the crown perimeter, stealing her steam. The resulting eruptions caused an implosion with the top of a massive crater falling inward, thereby creating a cap and sealing the vents. The unlikely series of events formed one of the few truly closed ecosystems on earth. Crater is the deepest lake in the United States and fed entirely by precipitation. No rivers or creeks flow in or out. Fish were introduced for tourists several decades ago, but that practice has stopped to allow the few native lake creatures to regain dominance. We didn’t allow enough time or energy for adequate exploring. There are several hiking trails radiating from the circumference. One trail descends to the shore where you can take a tour boat across the lake and even stop to explore the lake’s largest island. We missed the last boat of the afternoon and never got back to the park.

One day while Russell worked, I walked across Prospect to a state park. A trail leads behind a bluff to completely isolate you from the town and highway. The first set of waterfalls makes a mossy horseshoe retreat. An easy climb gets down to the beautiful clear water. The falls have a relatively short drop, but the width wraps the viewer into the scene as multiple creeks come together. It is lush and sparkling, an audio-visual with spray completing the experience. I moved on, curious about the creek’s path. A familiar rushing sound foretold the scene around the next corner. From the high bluff, creeks were rushing down bare rock, fighting for a place at the finish line. The first falls was all shelter, peace, verdant. This experience was bright, bold and hard edged. Different creeks on their way to join the Rogue. What a joy to share the scenes with Russell later in the day.

This stop is a story of trade-offs, I guess all trips are. We had a scant Crater Lake experience, but completely enjoyed the national forest and river. We may have shorted the larger, more lauded wonder, but the many small, less-traveled wonders were very worthy of the time.

NEXT TIME: Give Crater Lake its due. Diamond Lake.