I hiked East Crater on July 1st, 2015 and went in from the east side. It was brushy and I ran into a cliff band as well.
Once around that I explored the entire crater rim and then descended into the crater itself.
At the bottom of the picturesque crater I found a surprised elk calf laying low in the grass next to a big rock. It didn’t take long for him to take off.
Where's Waldo:
Last Monday, Kelly and I started at the East Crater TH and when we got near the high point of the trail, this time on the west side, we split up and I headed up and she headed for Blue Lake. From the east side it look me the same amount of time to get to the rim (20 minutes) but it was a lot easier, with no brush to contend with and no cliff band to get around.
I made my way around the rim to the highest point, shot a few photos and headed into the crater. I was most pleasantly surprised that the crater floor and most of the trees on the north facing wall hadn’t been touched by the fire. There was even a small lake at the bottom this time, no doubt due to the recent rains.
Sept. 30th, 2020
July 1st, 2015
Sept. 30th, 2020
July 1st, 2015:
I followed an elk trail out and then headed SW to rejoin the PCT and find Kelly at Blue Lake.
She was sleeping in the grass on the little peninsula in the left center. What an idyllic spot!
Blue Lake:
The folks that take care of the PCT in this area had done an amazing job clearing the many blowdowns from the recent windstorm. Here’s an area where about a dozen trees had been cleared and in the next picture, another six or so. There were about twice that number cleared in total just in the distance from East crater to Blue Lake. Way to go, whoever you are!
A few more pics from the hike:
Adams from the summit of East Crater:
Red Mt., Berry Mt. (the twin forested bumps) and Gifford Peak, left to right, from the summit of East Crater:
The view south from the summit.
9.9 miles, 2,037’ EG, hike # 88
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