4/26-28/17
Current location: Hudgins residence Issaquah, Washington
The drive out of Lake Tahoe north to Lava Beds National Monument took us back onto less-traveled highways. Our quick detour into Reno via highway 580 meant 2 things, a. we could get gas that was a lot less expensive than in California and b. we got to go through the California agricultural inspection again. We scoped out camp spots as we approached Lava Beds was we drove through the Modoc National Forest.
The campground was fine in the park, but we decided we’d rather not spend the money if we didn’t need to. A quick stop into the visitor center to get our cave permit and a debriefing about white-nose syndrome that is killing bats, and we headed back out to set up camp. We watched the rain come and go for a few hours, clearing enough for a colorful sunset. In the morning we headed into the national monument, donned our bike helmets and headlamps, and climbed down into the lava tubes to explore. Our first stop was into Mushpot, a lit informational lava tube/cave so we could orient ourselves with the formations we’d see through out the park. Golden dome was our second cave. We climbed down a steep ladder, ducking below ‘headache rock’ to enter into the darkness. Darkness quickly set in as we walked about 5 feet from the ladder. Our headlamps lit the walls and ceiling around us, illuminating the shimmering bacteria and water droplets. As we became more comfortable in the darkness, we turned off our lights, only illuminating the ceiling with the flash of the camera, trying to capture the beauty around us.
Our third cave was into Skull Cave, named for the bones of bighorn sheep and antelope that had died in the cave. This cave was the result of 2 layers of lava tube collapsing, becoming 1 very tall cave. The short hike in and down stairs reveals an ice floor that has been forming over the centuries. We rounded out our stay at Lava Beds with a hike up Schonchin Butte to the fire lookout tower. From the top, it was easy to see the different formations created by the volcanic activity in the area; lava tubes, lava flows, cinder cones. With each cave we visit, we are continually impressed with how different each are from one another. Each are interesting and beautiful in their own way.
As we drove through Klamath Falls, we decided to do a quick brewery search. Much to our amusement, we were only a few blocks away, so naturally we had to stop in to sample the local brews. Our campsite research turned up a sweet spot we were excited to check out. Odessa Campground is a free forest service run campground. Tucked in the woods and along a lake, we were happy to officially be in the Pacific Northwest. We watched the sunset from a grassy outcropping along the lake, listening to the several species of birds wish the sun a pleasant evening, while the fish jumped for the bugs taking flight in the fading light.
Without having set plans for the following day, we chatted about what we wanted to do to explore the area. We realized Crater Lake was only a 30 minute ‘detour’ from our greater plan of traveling north.Being that seeing Crater Lake was on our original list of places to see, it was a no brainer of where to explore next. As we started to gain elevation driving into the park, the snow piles quickly grew to over the height of the van. Most roads within the park were under at least 5 feet of snow, and would be quite a while until they were cleared. We parked the van in the designated center lane of the road and gleefully changed into our ski clothes. I’m sure we had some inquisitive looks in our direction as we climbed onto the roof to pull the skis out of the roof box. We climbed the tall snow banks and headed west along the lake, quickly leaving behind other visitors and into the quiet. We had unimpeded views of the lake and the surrounding area under bright blue skies and warm temps. The dark blue waters of the lake contrasted the snow covered slopes of the volcanic caldera. We skinned the edge of the lake for about a mile and a half for some exercise and, on principle, got in about half a dozen turns with a great background. Happy with our outing we changed, had a snack and made our way towards Bend, Oregon. We pulled into Sunriver Brewery for dinner and a beverage before we set up camp in the national forest a few miles away. Camp was among trees marked for logging, but was quiet and along easy dirt roads.
