So after Tipsoo Peak in the morning we headed to Crater Lake in the afternoon & a quick hike up Garfield Peak our 7th & final peak of the trip. First time ever I've had to wait in a long line to get into the park must have been something like a hundred cars in front of us at the North entrance. The Ranger at the gate told us that the Rim Drive had only just opened Yesterday. As we approached the Rim we could see that there was still a lot of snow about.
Rim Village was packed but we eventually found a place to park & headed to the Garfield Peak Trailhead which is on the far side of the Lodge. Lots of people were heading up the first part of the trail but things soon thinned out.
After about three quarters of a mile we came to the first snow drift partially blocking the trail. There was a sign across the trail it said "Danger Keep Back" we along with small children & people in flip flops bravely continued onwards
.. We hit some more snow fields but getting to the crater rim was easy. From here the amount of snow increased & fewer people were making an attempt to continue.
The steepest section was just below the summit, in the photo below we are on our way back down.
We saw more people on this trail that we had on all previous 6 hikes added together but we still had the Summit to ourselves!
There were of course great views in all directions!
It made Chiyoko jump for joy
...
We made our way back down the trail & passed a few other folks heading for the top, some had made it but if they moved any closer to the edge we felt they would be leaving it in a hurry!
Once back at the car we made a quick loop of the Rim Drive. The snow is melting fast now but there is still plenty there, It's still going to be a while before the road to the Cloudcap viewpoint is open
..
A final look at Wizard Island
More photos of Blue here!
Cheers.
