2nd Annual Crater Lake Trip
In an attempt to siphon out the last drops of summer, Trish and I went with two of our close friends, Darren and Audra, to Crater Lake this past weekend. If biking is your thing, then Crater Lake should be on the list of places to visit come late September because the vast majority of the road around the lake is closed to cars in anticipation of inevitable inclement weather that hits every fall and winter.
This year, we decided to stay at Diamond Lake Resort and spend the whole weekend there rather than one night. So we all crammed into one car after Darren got off work and began our 3 ½ hour drive to Diamond Lake Resort, only stopping at Hopworks restaurant for a quick bite and beer combo before knocking out the rest of the trip.
The next morning we awoke to rather chilly weather, so we took our time getting ready in order to allow our toes time to defrost and the air up at Crater Lake’s 8,000 foot caldera rim to warm up a bit. We then got all the bikes loaded once again and drove to the North entrance to the lake.
Loaded
and ready.
We all started out riding clockwise around the lake and were joined by some friends of Audra and Darren – Bill and Elizabeth. We also met up with Trish’s brother Mike and some of his engineer friends from ADEC.
One of the many viewpoints along the rim.
Two thumbs up!
Audra and Darren’s friends, Bill and Elizabeth
Audra, Trish, and Mike getting some snacks at the top of Cloudcap Peak.
The whole group.
The ride was beautiful and despite warnings about smoke, was as clear as I’ve ever seen it. The weather was also ideal; not uncomfortably cold but not sweat-inducing hot either.
Once we arrived at the visitor center, there was about six miles left to get back to the North entrance; however, I was still feeling pretty fresh and decided to head back the way I came, traversing the perimeter counter clockwise this time and meeting everyone back at the car.
Audra and Trish at the top of the Visitor’s Center.
Feeling spent but content, we made dinner back at our cabin and then spent the rest of the evening doing a little blind taste test of four red wines (Audra won!) and trying to stay awake ‘til 9pm. We were successful… barely.
The morning was spent eating another home-cooked meal, sharing stories with Bill and Elizabeth who joined us from Diamond Lake Campground, and finally with Audra and I renting a canoe for a quick ride around Diamond Lake.
Some logs that Audra and I made into an obstacle course, much to the chagrin of the seagulls.
Overall, this ride was another success and will definitely continue to be an annual ritual for us all.
Categories: Pedals and Packs