2
THE CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
great ease, and accompanied with considerable danger prior to the build
ing of the trail down from Rim Camp. There is no beach, the steep
slopes above the surface continue to great depths beneath the waters.
The precipitation is greater than the evaporation. On the rim in winter
the snow falls to the depth of thirty-five feet, and when thaws come in
the spring great avalanches of snow and ice slip down into the lake,
crushing everything in their way. This makes it impossible during the
winter months to leave a boat at the water edge; they are only safe when
sunk way below the surface at some distance from the brink. The sur
face of the lake never varies more than three feet, even in a long dry
summer, and as the lake does not fill and overflow there must be some
subterranean outlet. The fact that in this region the source of the Rogue
river gushes from under a rock and also many other minor streams have
a like origin gives credence to the theory of such an outlet.
In the summer, traveling in an automobile at a comfortable speed,
the trip can be made from Salem to the lake in three days. The roads
are fairly good much of the way. Leaving Salem at 9 o clock in the
morning Eugene is reached in four and a half hours. The best way to
go is through Polk and Benton couties. After a stop of an hour in
Eugene for luncheon with five hours more of travel Roseburg is reached
before the dinner hour is over. Roseburg is the prettiest town in Ore
gon, and an evening there is pleasantly spent; besides, the Umpqua
Hotel is the best hotel on the whole route. Starting again at 9 o’clock the
following morning it will take about the same number of hours to travel
the one hundred and ten miles to Medford. *Ihe distance is less, but the
road leads through the canon and up and down several mountains; there
are many steep grades and in some places the roadway is so narrow that
it is dangerous to pass another vehicle. One is fortunate to get by with
out having to do so. Medford is nearly as large as Salem and has the ad
vantage in several w ays, but its fruits do not excel those raised in Marion
county.
The start from Medford should be made in time to reach Prospect for
luncheon. Prospect Hotel meals will give satisfaction to the hungry
traveler, and its kitchen, presided over by Mrs. Grieves, the mistress of
the hotel, although in the mountains, is a model for convenience and
cleanliness.
The first thirty miles the road is fine and one can “ burn ‘em up" if
he is so inclined, but the remaining fifty miles cause a wish that an ear
lier start had been made, and if Rim Camp can be reached before dark
it will be luck. Theoretically Mr. McMahon and the Supreme Court were
probably correct, building a Crater Lake road is not a proper subject to
collect taxes for from the whole state, but, after one has spent an after
noon bumping along that road, he will wish we were not such strict con-
i