We did as much hiking as we could while at Crater Lake. Much more than my heel would have allowed just a few weeks ago - thank you cortisone!
The hike down to take the boat tour was our first. When the ranger said Cleetwood Clove Trail was one mile down and 5 miles up, he wasn't joking! (actual distance 2.2 miles) It was quite steep in places, but earned it's moderate rating because of all the switchbacks.
Bayley is a champion hiker, waiting at the trailhead for the rest of us. Jeff was next, even with 30+ pounds of girl on his back. Hayden and I...we enjoyed the view and he scavenged snacks from the other hikers.
After we recovered, we drove the rim and took in more exploring. Lady of the Woods is an easy trail behind the Steel Visitor Center. The highlight is a sculpture of a woman carved right into one of the giant boulders scattered by the volcano blast. Grace did this .5 mile hike on her own.
Bayley is a champion hiker, waiting at the trailhead for the rest of us. Jeff was next, even with 30+ pounds of girl on his back. Hayden and I...we enjoyed the view and he scavenged snacks from the other hikers.
After we recovered, we drove the rim and took in more exploring. Lady of the Woods is an easy trail behind the Steel Visitor Center. The highlight is a sculpture of a woman carved right into one of the giant boulders scattered by the volcano blast. Grace did this .5 mile hike on her own. 
Vidae Falls was fantastic. I had a hard time believing it was completely natural. It looked designed for the most splash possible.
Next we treked up Sun Notch for views of Phantom Ship. The views were great...and scary. No guard rail! We tucked a sleepy Grace in the backpack for this .5 mile hike , but she perked right up as soon as she saw that blue, blue water. It was bright blue! We also spotted bear and wolf tracks! Bears have seriously big paws.
Our final hike was Watchman Peak, another moderate/strenuous like Cleetwood Cove. After the less than stellar performance of...well, me & Hayden, I wasn't so sure it was the best choice for us. Still, Jeff encouraged us to go since it's shorter (1.6 miles) and does the uphill first, instead of 2nd. 
I'm not saying it didn't earn it's rating, but it was better than the first one. See that little lookout tower way on the top? That's where we went. The view was amazing. 
We even managed to get a family photo!
2 comments:
Yay..u finally got a nice family photo:)) Looks so pretty out there. Now I want to go:)
What a great photo of ALL of you!! So that's what we have to do to get Gracie in the pic...just put her in the backpack! We'll have to remember that at the next family get-together :)
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