Day 11

Our trial cams faired better than our previous attempt, or at least captured more interesting results. River A cam caught mostly scenic river shots (moving water). Cam B didn't record anything at night, but filled it's memory with pictures of the field. Cam C was the most interesting, catching video of a black tailed deer disappearing into the brush. More interesting still, it also picked up a unidentified human who actually adjusted our trail cam.

The area was covered in piles of fresh elk droppings, as well as signs of elk or deer (aggressively) digging at the ground and downed logs. We also found a variety of fresh tracks in the area.

  

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We were packed, had the campground (outhouse included) cleaned, and were on the road to Crater Lake by 8:35 AM.

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Volcanic crater turned lake, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, and it is every bit as incredible as I'd imagined. So happy we made it here.

  

We drove through the park and stopped at several viewpoints. We hiked Watchman Lookout Trail, which took us up to a wildfire watchtower. The view at the summit of this hike was indescribably beautiful in every direction. The deep blue green water of the lake was so clear that the bottom of the lake could be seen even from the watchtower.

  

Our camp leaders/chaperone team managed to park our fleet of large vehicles in a very tight and busy parking lot so that we could check out the visitor center.

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We arrived in Klamath with just enough time to get our tents set up and meet our guide for this area, Alex G. Alex is an environmental scientist with a PhD in climate change who works for the Klamath Tribe.

Alex took us to a trailhead (hike to Kirk Spring, the source of the Williamson River, which passes by our camp, and also feeds Upper Klamath Lake) maybe ten minutes from our camp. We walked about a hundred feet before Alex stopped and pointed out an obsidian arrowhead on the side of the trail. Artifacts such as these are very common along this trail, and are left out of respect for the tribe that has been here for 22 thousand years.

  

A little further along the trail we stopped to observe a 400 - 500 year old Ponderosa pine. We learned that once these trees reach this age, they are essentially become fire proof due to the thickness of their bark. Indeed, the tree we looked at had char marks along it's lower bark. Ponderosa pines also instinctively drop their lower branches, prompted by heat, to prevent wildfire from reaching their upper branches (known as a crown fire, which is a tree killing fire).

A little further, we came across the largest known living organism on the planet. Sixty eight hundred tons of aspen tree (named "Pando"), although what we could see here looked like a normal aspen tree stand. Every aspen tree is genetically identical with a connected root system. We learned that Pando is actively dying because it requires very cold winters to ensure that the plant freezes, an integral part of its life. As average winter temperatures rise in the areas where Pando exists, the root system doesn't freeze and that area of aspens die out.

Before heading back the way we came, we arrived at Kirk Springs which feeds the Williamson River, which feeds the Upper Klamath Lake. Upper Klamath Lake contains 600,000 acre feet of water at the beginning of each spring. By the time fall rolls around, the lake, whose deepest depth is six feet, is reduced to 180,000 acre feet of water. This spells death in a variety of ways for nearly all of the organisms that live in the lake, something we will explore further during tomorrow's tour of the area.

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The evening consisted of a live-trapped mouse release, fajita dinner, hot showers, and for me, several enjoyable trips to and from the amphitheater to set up our projector. I made friends with a large toad that was hanging out on the trail to amphitheater. Sleeping in until 7:00 AM tomorrow. Another excellent day.