8/11/2019
Of course, my summit fever kicked in when I visited Crater Lake. In a search for the best `bird’s Eye’ view of the lake, I must climb the highest available point on the rim. Garfield Peak provided just what I was looking for.
The trail is not for every casual visitor of the Lake, but it’s definitely worth a short climb in exchange for amazing panoramic view of the bluest blue lake.
The trail starts right behind the Crater Lake Lodge, it is short and steep, the 1.7-mile switchback trail gains fast 1,000 vertical feet. Beautiful trail with the lake being on your left leads you up at 8000 ft up to the summit.
The lake is filled by only snowmelt and precipitation, and there is no inlet or outlet, Crater Lake is one of the clearest lakes in the world (a record clarity of 142 feet was recorded in 1997). With a maximum depth of 1,943 feet, it is also the deepest lake in America and the ninth deepest on earth; the clarity and depth combine to create the intense blue color, the bluest blues I have ever seen.
Show me the Trail 