Perfection at Crater Lake?

Naw!

Maybe the weather and view was last Sunday but, I wished I was "the Master" of my own camera, though. After working hard in the pumice of the forests east of Crater Lake for 6 days straight, I took my one day off to hike up near Garfield Peak on the south side of the lake.

It's almost impossible to take a truly bad picture here but, getting that "AWESOME" shot takes some work. Yes, the blue captured in the picture below really does look that deep and blue. The depth and purity of the lake reflects the blue sky back up to the viewer. Wizard Island always dominates pictures of this precious jewel.

Here's me, daringly dropping over "the edge" on this self-portait. Don't worry, it's only a 1200 foot drop down to certain death. Behind me are 4 peaks I have climbed in the past.

Since the road around the lake was still closed, due to snow, views of the Phantom Ship for the average tourist were rather distant. Even hiking towards it from the Crater Lake Lodge, the other island in Crater Lake still looks small, especially with my wide angle lens. However, this shot was not intended to show off this favorite island rock formation.

This picture IS intended to show the detail of the Phantom Ship. My 10X zoom brings it pretty close and shows why it was named. The boat ride brings you even closer, even going between the narrows. If you're ever there, consider hiking down the 700 foot descent to Cleetwood Cove to board the summer boat tours. It's well worth the 20+ dollars and the sore legs. You can also explore Wizard Island, as it docks there during the tour.

Finally, here's a view of the impressive Mount Thielsen, a long-dormant volcano eroded down to the old volcanic "neck". I climbed this peak way back in 1984 with an old roomate. I had a bad knee on that trip but persevered in climbing the 4000 vertical feet, complete with a class 4 variation at the summit, dangling above a 2000 foot sheer drop-off. While you don't actually need a rope to reach the summit, you'll definitely need it for the descent. At the very top, there's only about 100 square feet of space on top of that pinnacle. While we took in the view, we were surprised to meet a family (father, mother and two pre-teen) kids who came up the standard class 4 route to the top. The descent is full of fun and you can go "scree-ing" down the loose volcanic rock, riding piles of scree by keeping your feet moving.

My 10X zoom brings Mt. Thielsen in pretty close from all the way across Crater Lake. Would you attempt to climb this awesome peak??!? (I was 26 at the time, with a bum knee)