I say McCloud to Wolf Creek. Actually, I was about 10 miles from McCloud but it was closest so it gets the credit. It rained during the night so it took a little longer to get going at the start but the clean air was worth it.
I have tried to get to Crater Lake for several years. Three year in a row I got thwarted by fires and then two Covid years. This year, for the first time ever, I rode the 'Volcanic Byway' from Lassen Volcanic NP to Crater Lake NP. An incredibly scenic way to travel between the two parks.
I had showers and fog to start the day then had beautiful weather for the north end of California and southern Oregon. Traffic was moderate at worst and I had clear riding all the way to Crater Lake. Well, except for a couple of rain showers just before I got to the park.
You gain quite a little elevation as you head for the Lake itself, and it was foggy and moist all the way up. At the bottom of the last climb was a sign announcing 'Lake Views Restricted'. It was so foggy you couldn't see the lake.
Then the fog lifted. It didn't go away, just seemed to go straight up about 1000 feet. Crater Lake was different from any time I had seen it before. Subdued, perhaps.
I could see Wizard Island, which is actually the original top of the mountain after the volcano blew this huge crater that is now the lake out. The peak of the mountain settled into the crater and after the crater filled with water gave us one of the most scenic spots in the US.
It was really an incredible experience with the fog, and the fact that it lifted some just when I got to the top. I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good.
I stopped at the visitors center at the bottom and bought a wonderful long sleeved souvenir T Shirt. I love the shirt, but the real reason is that I needed more clothes! It was cold for my desert body. I left Crater Lake and headed Northeast to find dry and warm,
I found it in east central Oregon. This is Wolf Creek, the campground is named for it. A really pleasant place that I had all to myself. This is what is called the Industrial campground, huge sites with places to park big rigs for log crews and big RVs.
Lots of room, shade and sun to choose from. It was a wonderful campground that I couldn't appreciate fully. I no more than got set up when I sneezed about 20 times and suddenly didn't feel right. A really big clue that I wasn't well? I wasn't hungry, didn't eat anything but a few tortilla chips for dinner.
I did drink lots of water and coffee. This is a pretty good look at the way I set up for camping. The black topped box is my 'kitchen' and the all clear one is the coffee box. You can see the stove coffee stove right in the center with the 'big' stove on the far end of the table. That skillet is also the cover for the dutch oven. You can clearly see my garbage bag anchored with the hatchet. Surprising how well that works.
Eastern Oregon is known to be dry and fairly inhospitable but this place was lush. I saw deer and elk scat all around the campsite, it obviously wasn't used much.
I may have been just one day from my brother's place except for one thing. I woke up for the next leg of the journey with Covid. It'd be two more days until I reached Kennewick, WA. That will be part of the next installment. Thanks for riding with me this far!
All words and photos in this post are mine. For better or worse.
