The Folding Harpsichord: 8/30/08 Crater Lake National Park Part 2

Crater Lake NP North Entrance

2008夏天intern結束後，我和女友，在返回加州的路途上，又是從Portland地區開車南下，先前往Crater Lake National Park。和兩年前來遊玩的時候一樣，我選擇在更靠近公園北邊入口的地方找地方歇腳。不過，這次的Whispering Pines Motel可是踩到了蠻嚴重的地雷。不知道是不是我們太晚到，我們被分配到一個邊邊的房間。剛開始因為房間較大，以為賺到了，不過後來才發現裡面東西又破又髒，而且一進浴室，澡缸裡居然還有蜈蚣!!!!!! 害我是將它們沖走後，將浴缸整個洗了一遍後，又開了熱水水龍頭近半小時才敢進去洗澡。

網上看到別的review沒有那麼負面，不知道我們那一天是真的那麼倒楣還怎的。我平常對住宿已經很不挑了，不過這種等級那麼糟的motel，居然還要收到$40-$50，真的讓人很不能接受。不過聽說老闆換人了，好像有整修過。有勇氣去嘗試住過的朋友，記得跟我通知一聲。

Upon finishing my 2008 summer intern in Vancouver, WA, my girlfriend and I decided to visit Crater Lake NP. It would be my second trip to the park, while being her first. Again coming from the Portland area and also on a tighter budget, we opted to stay in the Chemult vicinity like last time. This time, we thought we gained a little advantage by staying even closer to the park entrance at a place called the Whispering Pines Motel. It turned out to be one of the worst stays of all the national park lodgings I can recall. Not only was the room run-down, there even appeared to be centipedes or some other multi-legged creature in the bathtub. After flushing them down the drain, I kept the hot water running for a good 20 minutes or so before I dared to step in to shower. The motel even charged something like $40-$50 a night, which is ridiculous, considering what it has to offer. It seems that the motel has undergone a change in ownership as of 2010. I sincerely hope it is now under livable conditions.

Whispering Pines Motel

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這次來到Crater Lake，大片深藍色的湖水仍是使人著迷。除了漂亮之外，還是只有漂亮。不過，這一天與上次來最大不同之處，在於這一天湖上的風不小，可以清楚看到波紋。這使得要從湖上看周圍景物倒影時，這次基本上是看不大到的。充滿期待要再目睹一次那種景色，不過心裡是小失望了一下。

Two years is but a blink of an eye in geological time. Crater Lake's water is the same enchanting deep blue color as it was last time I was here. What was slightly different to my last visit this time was a consistent breeze blowing across the lake surface. While this in no way changed the beauty of Crater Lake, what was missing was the ability to capture the reflections of the surrounding scenery in the lake. This was, of course, just a very minor disappointment.

這次來，除了好好帶女友觀賞Crater Lake，另外我的主要目的，其實是來坐船遊湖的。那時另外一位Stanford學弟夫婦(他們同是高中學弟妹)與其他幾位朋友早我幾天到Crater Lake，說那一趟坐船之旅還蠻值得的，讓我也決定跟進。於是，這天北邊入口進來拍了一些照之後，我們是直奔Rim Drive北邊的Cleetwood Trail的開頭，買票走到湖邊。

Cleetwood Trail起點那兒有停車場可以停車，而售票的地方，就在停車場一轉進之處，有人架的攤子。因為考慮走下去差不多要三，四十分鐘，所以保險起見，買了中午12點的船票。不知道時間是否有更改，但這兒有最新的開船時間。船不是NPS經營的，而是由外面的公司，所以船票其實還不便宜。另外，我們買的票是只遊湖，而沒有在Wizard Island上停留。

Cleetwood Trail是有坡度的，所以trail是來回折返的，以降低上下山的陡度。印象中，下去應該是花了半個小時。

While hands down, the first and foremost reason for the trip was giving my girlfriend the chance to marvel at Crater Lake National Park's gorgeousness, I had a slight agenda of my own to make it to the boat tour. Several days ago, some Stanford friends beat us to Crater Lake, and after making the boat trip, they highly recommended it.

Upon hitting the North Junction of the Rim Drive and stopping to take a few pictures, we immediately headed to the Cleetwood Trailhead in the northern section of the lake. There is a parking lot next to the trailhead, and the ticket stand is near the entrance of the parking lot. While it is true that the tickets can sell out fast during the high season, we were luckily to find tickets available right on the spot. The hike down Cleetwood trail takes roughly 40 minutes, so we booked the noon tickets to give ourselves some time margin to comfortably make the trip.

The boat trips aren't run by the NPS but by another outside company. The departure times and ticket prices can be found here. The tickets are fairly pricey, but it is a trip that is not to be missed. We only purchased the regular boat trip, as we weren't particularly in an adventurous mood that day to step foot on Wizard Island. Next time perhaps?

The Cleetwood Trail is fairly steep and contains many switchbacks. Close to the official estimation, we made the descent in roughly half an hour.

湖邊 Lakeshore

在湖邊戲水的遊客

Other visitors having fun dipping in the water

有人類留下食物的殘骸，就會看到花栗鼠的蹤跡

Chipmunks seen scavenging for human food leftovers

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Volcano Boat Cruises

船的tour，逆時鐘繞湖一圈，先到湖的西邊的Wizard Island，再從南邊到Phantom Ship，由東邊繞回開船的起點。

The Volcano Boat Tours depart from Cleetwood Cove, making a counterclockwise trip around the lake, hitting the important attractions of Wizard Island and Phantom Ship along the way.

朝南邊望去，在湖南端的Chaski Bay/Chaski Slide。山的中間好像被挖掉一匙一樣，是當初Mount Mazama塌陷後不久也隨即滑落到坑裡面。這趟船行，慢慢會光顧到那兒。

This is a view of Chaski Bay/Chaski Slide. The central region looks like it's been scooped out by a gigantic shovel. In fact, after Mount Mazama's cataclysmic collapse, portions of this region subsequently broke off and fell into the caldera. The tour would eventually stop there.

山坡上大量的小石子，正看出冰雪風化的痕跡

Gravel on the slopes show evidence of continuing erosion

左邊深色凸出來的岩牆叫做Devil's Backbone，是由硬度較高的石頭組成的。它一片一片，容易讓人聯想是個魔鬼的背脊。

Pieces of darker rock on the left sticking out on the slopes are made out of more erosion-resistant lava rocks. Its shape resembles fish fins to me, but it has been called Devil's Backbone, a more catchy name.

從湖面上看Wizard Island，更有真實感

Wizard Island, seemingly more real seen from the lake level

更靠近Wizard Island，並從旁邊擦身而過

Approaching Wizard Island....... and then passing by.....

過Wizard Island，回頭望去的Llao Rock

View of Llao Rock looking back, after passing Wizard Island

Llao Rock的名字由來是來自當地印地安人的神話。相傳遠古時代有兩個大的神，一個叫L-ao，居住在Crater Lake這兒，一個叫Skell，在東邊的Klamath一帶。二神有各自的手下，可以化身為不同的動物。二神的部下之間展開了一場兇狠的戰爭，終於讓Skell和L-ao不得不親自出手。

Skell雖然先戰敗，心給挖了出來，但他的部下將他完整的心臟偷了回來，讓它得以復活。而浴火重生的Skell和其陣營，則反過來將L-ao給誅了，還五馬分屍。今天的Llao Rock，是L-ao神之前的王位，可在這大石上，居高臨下，統治它的王國。

地質學來說，Llao Rock是這一帶最年輕的石頭之一，是Mount Mazama當初慢慢爆發出來，流出來的岩漿。從公園北邊進來，是很容易看到的景觀。

Llao Rock is name after the god L-ao of local Native American mythology. It was said that in ancient times, two deities ruled over the area. One was L-ao, god of the Crater Lake region, and the other was Skell, who resided in the eastern Klamath region. Each god had its followers and creatures that could take on many different animal forms.

A battle soon ensued between followers of both camps, which ultimately led to the two gods' personal involvement. Skell was the first one to fall, having its heart ripped out. However, its followers stole back his heart, which restored it back to life. A renewed Skell army would defeat L-ao, this time tearing it to pieces. Such was the fate of L-ao. Today the Llao Rock is one of the most recognizable and massive structures here at the lake, which was said to be the throne of where L-ao would rule over the lake.

Geologically, Llao Rock is one of the youngest features in the park, created when lava flowing out of Mount Mazama's late eruptions hardened into stone.

到Chaski Bay了。山腳下還有未融化的冰。

Arriving Chaski Bay, with some snow still visible.

正在融化的雪水形成它們自己的小瀑布。

Melting Snow creating their own waterfall.

逼近湖上另一個主要景點Phantom Ship。Ranger開了冷笑話說這是湖上航行最久的船~~~~

Approaching the other star on Crater Lake - Phantom Ship, oldest navigating ship on the lake (bad joke courtesy of our NPS ranger)

Phantom Ship 的近照。這兒已經是湖最南邊的地方了。接著要往東行了。

Close-up of Phantom Ship. This is the south end of the lake.

這兒在湖東邊，那橘紅色的石頭，叫做Pumice Castle，是更早期Mount Mazama噴發出來不同顏色的浮石。這和Mount Mazama氣數已盡，大量噴發出來的浮石是不同的。今天看得到這些更老的石頭，全仰賴大自然的風化將它們再度露出來。從湖面上看過去，倒是蠻像歐洲貴族和王室蓋在山上的小城堡。

The orange rock formation on hill is called Pumice Castle. It was created when pumice erupted out in the very early stages of Mount Mazama. These eruptions are very different from the later pumice eruptions that created the Pinnacles, those that signaled the beginning of the end of Mount Mazama. This discrepancy is seen most evident by the differing colors of this rock to it surrounding ones. From the lake, it does vaguely resemble a small European castle built on the hilltops.

這是Crater Lake湖上的一個小奇景。這個木頭名字叫The Old Man of the Lake，是個直立漂浮在湖裡的9米長樹幹。能夠垂直懸浮在湖裡，也算是自然裡的奇蹟，要特殊條件都剛好符合才行。

別以為這個木頭是這幾年才有的。早在1896年，就已經有地質學家記載它的存在呢！而這個起碼有百年以上的老木，行蹤不定，多年來在湖的各處趴趴走。在Crater Lake上坐船，這一定是必停的景點。

This vertically floating log on the lake is called The Old Man of the Lake. This 30-foot log represents a minor natural wonder in the sense of having just the right conditions such that the piece of wood is able to float vertically instead of horizontally.

The Old Man of the Lake has been reported to exist as early as 1896, making its life on the lake to be at least one hundred years old. Wind and currents on the lake make the Old Man travel pretty extensively on the lake, prompting even scientists to systematically track its path. This is surely one of the more peculiar but must-stops on the boat tour.

湖東邊的岩石峭壁。 Tour即將要結束。

Cliffs on the eastern side of Crater Lake.

回到岸邊，看看時間，已經兩點多了，和他們預估的1小時45分鐘差不多。憑良心說，以同樣的價錢，許多別的船票只是從一個定點載到另一個點。這趟船之旅，不僅為時兩小時，還有專門的Ranger負責講解，所以還算是值得的。而且，能在湖上吹吹風，和Crater Lake做「近」一步的接觸，這種體驗其實是相當珍貴的。

The boat trip took around 2 hours, which is honestly a pretty good deal. Many boat trips in certain national parks only consist of simply ferrying you between two locations, dropping you off and picking you up later. Not only was the length of the boat tour very reasonable, but a dedicated park ranger being our tour guide was definitely a plus. Overall, a very valuable experience.

這天剩下的時間，我們和我第一次來開相反的方向，順時鐘地繞Rim Drive，適時在重要的景點停下來。

The remainder of the day, we drove clockwise around the rim, counter to what I did when I was last here, hitting the other vista points.

從Cloudcap Overlook看湖。Cloudcap Overlook是Rim Drive上最高的位置，是個熱門照相景點。一來視野寬廣，二來沒什麼障礙。

Cloudcap Overlook, or the highest point on Rim Drive (hence the name.) Visitors here get an unimpeded view of the whole lake, providing numerous photo opportunities.