We have been hiking in Oregon since August 4th. It has been smokey and very dry here as well. We have daily had 10-13 miles between water sources, and we had a 20 miles water carry yesterday and this morning to get to Mazama Village in Crater Lake National Park. The lakes we have visited the past few days have shown extreme signs of the drought affecting this area. Hyatt Lake, which appears to be huge – was just a puddle of water. Fish Lake water level was down maybe 30 ft. The boat docks were laying on the dry bottom of the lake! We took some photos of this.
So Sage and I arrived at Mazama Village this morning around 9:30 am. Joy had sent us resupply packages here (which we did receive!). She was also able to get us a room at the Crater Lake Lodge in Rim Village, which is 7 miles away. There is normally a free shuttle running between the 2 locations, but we discovered this morning that the shuttle was not running due to COVID.
Sage got us a hitch 4 miles up the road with post office employees. We started to road walk the last 3 miles, and a family with a van was kind enough to pick us up and bring us to the lodge. So we made it!
Fortunately today the smoke has cleared and we have beautiful views of Crater Lake from the lodge. This lodge is also beautiful! It was built back in the 1920’s and has had expansions and remodeling since then. It reminds me of Grove Park in Asheville, NC. So thanks to Joy, we have a room here vs. sleeping on the ground somewhere in our tents!
Tomorrow morning we will hike out of here and do the rim trail around Crater Lake. Then continue north as far as we can get (there are fire and storm closures north of us here in Oregon). We passed the 1800 mile marker on the trail yesterday. Thank you as always for following our journey and commenting- we truly appreciate it! All of our recent photos have been downloaded as well.
Wow! You guys have seen it all. Glad you made it to Crater Lake. Pictures of the Lake are beautiful. Then you see the boats docks laying on dry land and it is so sad. Then the burnt out forests and smoke. Such devastation beyond words. I am so thankful you are sharing this journey. I feel like I am watching a documentary up close and personal. Kudos to Joy for keeping you guys supplied with essentials and finding shelter to keep you going. I am truly awed by the angels you have met who are so kind and generous. Hoping your trek around the rim of the lake goes well. I bet you will see some awesome sights. The lake looks clear from your pictures. You guys rock! Any idea when you plan on getting to Canada? I guess it all depends on the fires in Washington. So proud of you both and your determination to finish this once in a lifetime accomplishment!! Take care and God Bless.
Mary & Jerry
Hi Mary – Bucket here – thank you for your comments. The affects of severe drought out west here are huge. Those of us from the Midwest have not felt this so far. But Sage and I are now living it each day. You asked when we plan to finish this hike. On “paper” when we planned our resupply spreadsheet, we were finishing at the end of September. How many fire and storm closures we need to work around will certainly impact this schedule. The weather in northern Washington could also impact our finish date. If early snows begin to happen that could drive us off the trail early.
We are truly taking this trek one day at a time. We’re thankful for each day that keeps us on the trail and just keep pushing north towards Canada. Thanks again for your comments- we enjoy reading them!
Ron and Kendra,
Enjoying the pictures with all the beautiful views! Smoke looks scary. Bet you loved the lodge and hopefully got a good night sleep there! Carry on!! Love, Todd and MaryB
Hi MaryBeth & Todd – Bucket here. Crater Lake was amazing – I was really fascinated with it. And the lodge was a godsend! Thank you for following our journey!