PNW: Crater Lake

The terminus of our Oregon trip was Crater Lake. It's beautiful...and cold should you chose to venture out in early October.

I am not a cold weather girl. Once I'm cold it takes me days to warm back up...so naturally I wear more layers than necessary to keep myself nice and toasty. Unfortunately this technique always backfires when I start hiking. After a mile of up-hill climbing, I'm usually suffering from heat exhaustion and have to strip back down.

Thankfully the weather cleared on Day 2 and we caught a glimpse of America's deepest lake. And they aren't kidding - this sucker is blue! We hiked a little over 3 miles to the top of Garfield Peak for a different perspective. Nothing like a brisk (20 degree) hike at 8 a.m. to wake you up.

Fun Fact: Crater Lake got it's name from the small crater on top of Wizard Island (the small island seen in the photo above), not from the large caldera in which the lake resides. Difference between a caldera and a crater: a caldera is much larger and formed by the collapse of a volcano.