Thursday, June 25- Day 9 (with photos)

Today I continued south along the PC (Pacific Coast) Highway.  For part of this drive, there are major sand dunes along the shore.  Many places rent ATVs and other “toys” to go play in the sand. 

My next plan was to take another inland loop for more twisties.  The route planning for this section didn’t go so well.  Once I got back into the forest, the GPS route started suggesting I take the unpaved roads.  Not good with the FJR.  So I had to keep navigating until I finally got back out to civilization and back on course.  This was a little frustrating but it is all part of the adventure.

Once back on course I continued further down the PC Highway and then started towards Crater Lake.  I had heard so much about this place that I finally worked it into my plans. It is interesting because first you climb the mountain (what is left to it) and then you look into it! The water is the most blue I have ever seen.  It was just beautiful.  For those that don’t know much about Crater Lake, here is a quick lesson.

Back 7,700 years ago, what is today known as Crater Lake, was Mount Mazama which was 12,000 feet tall.  Volcanic eruptions blew the top of the mountain off and the hot lava caused the center of the mountain to implode on itself and sink.  This creates a caldera (basin) on the top of the mountain.  The basin has filled with snow and rain for centuries.  As there is no steam into the lake, there is no sediment to cloud the water.  Some other facts:

·         6.02 miles across at widest point

·         1,953 feet at deepest point

·         Holds 4.9 trillion gallons of water

·         Precipitation and evaporation keep the lake at the same constant level.

I am spending the night at a campground right here in the park.

Tomorrow’s route will have me leaving Oregon behind and heading to northern California and eventually back to the coast for a short time.

The heat is starting to build.  This afternoon it was 95+ for several hours of riding.  My thick blood isn’t familiar with these temperatures yet. Earlier the forecast was for a major heat wave in the area.  As I don’t have cell phone reception, I haven’t had a chance to check tomorrow’s weather yet.  I plan to get an early start and see how it goes.  I am hoping that either riding at higher elevations or along the coast will make it tolerable.