Crater Lake

Katie D.

July 19, 2009 - 4:45 PM

I am not from Oregon, and had never taken that necessary trip to the great state icon: the highest and deepest lake in the United States. Crater Lake. It was beautiful beyond belief, and not only because of its unique position in the open caldera of an extinct volcano. The surroundings were amazingly dramatic: sharp cliffs and surrounding mountains, trees growing up out of sharp rocks.

But, of course, the most noted and most notable feature of Crater Lake is its color. Its altitude and depth, combined in some principles of physics and the relative lack of aquatic life, makes it a deep deep bright blue like no color I have ever seen before. It was not sky blue. There was no lightness to it, although the clouds were reflected in it. Instead it was a kind of electric midnight blue. Shockingly beautiful.

This trip to Crater Lake was, again, a trip with work. The Humphrey Fellows (adult students at the American English Institute: please see previous blogs) were joined by fifteen Korean pre-law students. We clambered into a huge charter bus at a ridiculously early hour, and were off on a grand adventure.

The first hour or so, the bus was completely silent. We were all tired: I'm sure that everyone was as tired as I was from early-to-bed intentions and the unfortunate reality of a late night and early morning.

But eventually people woke up a little bit, and something fabulous happened without any prompting from myself or the other Activities Coordinators. A couple of the Fellows began to demand entertainment from the group. They commandeered the bus microphone and teased and tormented other Fellows to come forward to say something to entertain the bus. Some said quick thank-yous to the group for all being there together. Others told quick stories or jokes in their native languages. A couple ran through phony presidential campaigns.

But the best part was when they would be brave enough to sing. Most who chose to sing chose the National Anthem of their country. Others sang popular songs or soccer chants. But it was beautiful: all these wonderful people who I had worked with for months were getting up and taking their place in their native language and sharing that with the group.

So when we finally arrived at Crater Lake, we were feeling pretty happy and excited about our trip together. My only real regret for the whole day is that I didn't stand up and sing myself. I would have sung either "This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land," or "You Are My Sunshine."

The first sight of Crater Lake is something of a shock. You are prepared for more mountain vistas, more high elevation pine forests. Then, suddenly, there is nothing but deep blue water on one side of the bus. One massive expanse of blue, blue lake. We got out to walk around and view the lake at Rim Village. I read the lake facts to Svetlana, and was also extremely excited to find a relief map of the area's topography so that Svetlana could touch the lake area, and to get a tactile sense of what I was seeing. In that moment, more than any other before, I wished that she could see what I was seeing.

But then the day's real event: the hike down to the water's edge. There is only one place on the entire lake where it is possible to get down to the water. It was a lovely hike/walk down, watching as that blue-blue water drew closer and closer as I climbed.

Now, let me tell you that Crater Lake is cold. Seriously cold. It is mostly fed by snow melt, and is deep enough that the whole lake stays very cold. Despite this, I planned to swim. How could I not? The weather was perfect: too hot to be comfortable in the sun, and relatively mosquito-free. I helped Svetlana down to the water, following a rocky path that was more of a scramble than a walk. We both were glad that I'd taken her indoor rock climbing as a kind of practice.

After spending a couple of minutes together in the water, I moved on to check that the group was doing well. People were gingerly entering the water, or were splashing around very close to the rocky shore.

But the other main activity was amateur cliff diving. Several Humphreys had already gone over the side before I scrambled back up the rocky slope. I promised Svetlana I'd yell to her when I was ready to jump. This was a serious drop. It was probably 25-30 feet, straight down into water of about a hundred feet in depth. Our group would cheer and chant for anyone who looked like they would dive in. Several were going in with their clothes on. Others drew out the process for a long time, hovering near the edge before finally deciding to throw themselves over the side.

The first time I jumped was slightly terrifying. It was a long enough drop to ponder how beautiful the lake was, and to be so giddily happy that I was in that beautiful place, doing this crazy thing. Hitting the water slapped some sense in to me, just long enough to swim back, celebrate my success, and to find my camera for some additional pictures the second time.

What a day. What a place.

The final event as we drove back to Eugene was a side stop at Salt Creek Falls. I have seen many waterfalls recently, during my trip to the Columbia River Gorge. But these falls were particularly beautiful. I love little more than I love to see water: water in motion, water reflecting sky, ocean water and the feeling of unending motion, and waterfalls with a sense of beautiful purpose.

Bug-bitten, sunburned, hair still bedraggled from the swim, I said my goodbyes to the Humphreys. This was my last trip as Activities Coordinator for the Humphrey Fellows. On Thursday I will head home to Colorado, then on for another trip, and when I return the vast majority of the Fellows will be gone. I will miss them all so much, and will miss these wonderful adventures we've had together. I will particularly miss Brigitte and Svetlana, with whom I have spent so much time. But I will also miss the group as a whole: a group so focused on academic learning, on research for their professional development, and on helping each other to enjoy the experience. These adults were also willing to stand up before these peers to sing their National Anthems, to tell jokes, and to make slight fools of themselves. This is a beautiful talent, and a privilege to be witness to.

What a blessing that this last trip as Humphrey Activities Coordinator could be such a wonderful one, to such an iconic place. A memorable day to close a time with these memorable and inspirational people.