We left sea level five days and five thousand feet ago. FINALLY it was the day to climb the last 2500 feet to the top of a giant collapsed volcano filled with 7000 years worth of precipitation.
Crater Lake is the result of a dead volcano. Mt. Mazama was estimated to be 12,000 feet high before it exploded around 5500 BC. It spewed massive amounts of debris and gas into the surrounding landscape, filling valleys to make flat deserts.
The volcano then collapsed in on itself and was sealed. It now collects water in a lake that's 1900 feet deep.
I guess that's worth the climb.
So we made it. After breaking up the climb from sea level over the course of almost a week, the final push to the top wasn't as bad as we thought.
Unfortunately, it was impossible for Travis to cannonball into Crater Lake because there's only one way down to the water and it's a vertical footpath. Also, the water remains 39 degrees year round. So instead, we took the afternoon the enjoy the view.
