C4
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Crater Lake lives up to the hype
By MAKENZIE WHITTLE
Bend Bulletin
BEND — A “whoop” rang out from the hillside
of Hillman Peak on the rim of Crater Lake, echoing
through the area. Before the sound had a chance to sub-
side, a skier began speeding down to a person below
— and source of the whoop — waiting just above the
timberline.
With wide zig-zags and one after the other, the two
skiers had careened their way down the peak, the icy
crust of the snow crunched with each curve. There’s no
ski patrol here, no ski lift to take people to the top. The
hillside is owned by those who bother to climb it.
Dark clouds hung above the skiers and began to spit
a rain-snow mix at onlookers below.
“No thanks!” one woman chuckled as she held her
jacket a little tighter.
While not common at the end of June, backcountry
skiing isn’t unheard of in Crater Lake National Park.
With an average annual snowfall of 43 feet, the park
is one of the snowiest inhabited places in the country,
according the park’s seasonal newsletter.
The park is open year-round and is a spectacular sight
to see at any time — barring clouds within the caldera
don’t obstruct the view — but access varies depending
on snowfall.
The crystal azure waters have beckoned tourists
since word of the lake entered the state and national
consciousness in the 1850s, though knowledge of the
lake has been passed through the local Native American
tribes and their ancestors for millennia.
For a place that in the 1850s took days to access, the
lake continues to entice.
The 1,932-foot-deep lake is the deepest in the coun-
try with up to 100 feet of clarity, making it also one of
the clearest. The park is located on more than 183,000
acres of land, which includes the famous lake, moun-
tains, peaks and buttes, streams, springs, a bog and geo-
logical wonders, like the Pinnacles and Pumice Des-
ert, dozens of hiking trails, historic buildings, including
the picturesque Crater Lake Lodge, and the promise of
adventure to all who seek it.
Adventure is out there
Crater Lake National Park is host to 90 miles of hik-
ing trails including a 33-mile section of the 2,653-mile
Pacifi c Crest Trail.
It’s not hard to spot a thru- hiker taking on the trail
that runs through the West Coast from Mexico to Can-
ada. Many take a well-earned break at the Annie Creek
Restaurant or the Camp Store at the south entrance of
the park. With their packs and sticks resting on the side
of the building, they cling to packages addressed with
their name followed by “PCT Hiker.”
If hikers are in need of a shower, they can use the
facilities at the Mazama Campground next to the restau-
IF YOU GO
Where: Crater Lake National Park
332 miles southwest of Pendleton via Interstate 84 to
Biggs Junction, then south on U.S. Highway 97
Cost: $25 summer entrance fee for noncommercial
vehicles
$15 winter entrance fee for noncommercial vehicles
$20 motorcycles
$12 bicycles and pedestrians
Passes are good for seven days
$50 annual pass, includes entry to Lava Beds National
Monument, California
America the Beautiful Annual Interagency Pass accept-
ed
Contact: www.nps.gov/crla or 541-594-3000
TravelCraterLake.com Photo
Crater Lake Lodge’s entrance in the front of the lodge
that was fi rst built in 1915. By the 1980s it had fallen into
such disrepair that many of the walls had gaps, some-
times feet wide, at the joint. The lodge was then com-
pletely renovated in 1995 while keeping in the same aes-
thetic and look as the classic structure.
rant and store.
There are 14 named and marked trails by the National
Park Service, all varying in length and diffi culty, each
one offering a little something different for the casual
traveler.
Garfi eld Peak and Mount Scott roll out some of the
highest and best views of the park. Each is moderate to
strenuous depending on the ability of the hiker and each
climbs hundreds of feet in elevation. The peaks also
offer views of the park, lake and surrounding Rogue
National Forest as well as vistas beyond.
Crater Lake encompasses less than 10% of the park.
Old-growth forest surrounds and comprises a majority
of the park land. Within these forests are the headwa-
ters of the Rogue River (at Boundary Springs), water-
falls, creeks and ancient glacial valleys carved before
the mountain blew that now look like notches on the rim
of the caldera.
A 6-mile road off the East Rim Drive leads to the
Pinnacles, an overlook and short hiking trail along the
park boundary at Sand Creek.
The overlook and start of the trail highlight the
strange spires that rise out the base of the canyon. These
beige and gray volcanic vents, called fumaroles, were
formed before the mountain here collapsed to form the
lake we know today. Gases escaping from beneath the
ash fl ow settled above and welded it together to form a
kind of pipe. Eventually the creek eroded away the ash
and left these hard and erosion-resistant spires behind.
Despite the park containing these otherworldly-look-
ing features, the lake is still the main draw and, while
the caldera rim looks impenetrable, there is one way
down.
Cleetwood Cove Trail is a strenuous 1.1 mile trail to
the water’s surface. Its steep terrain with a few switch-
backs make sure-footedness and good back and knee
conditioning paramount to the eventual climb back up.
The descent is, however, worth it.
Cleetwood Cove is one of two locations in the park
visitors can swim in the frigid waters of Crater Lake.
The other is next to the boat launch at Wizard Island.
Those braving a plunge are limited to the fi rst 100
yards from shore and standard swim wear or regular
clothing are allowed — no wetsuits, goggles or fi ns.
If staying dry is more desirable, visitors can also
catch a boat tour from the cove.
The Standards Lake Cruise putters around the lake
for two hours, highlighting the features within the cal-
dera including Phantom Ship, a 400,000-year-old lava
island, the Old Man, a 100-year-old hemlock trunk that
fl oats upright around the lake, and more.
The Wizard Island Cruise combines the Standard
Cruise with a full stop at Wizard Island so visitors can
hike to the top, picnic, swim or fi sh.
There is also a Wizard Island shuttle that sails directly
to the island.
Anglers can expect to fi nd rainbow or kokanee at the
end of their line. There is no limit and no permit required
to fi sh the lake, just the bravery to hike to the shore and
try and fi nd a spot to fi sh on the limited shoreline.
Or, stick to the land.
The 33-mile Rim Drive fully opened on July 11.
Travelers can drive the entire loop, stopping at one of 36
pullouts overlooking the lake, many constructed when
the park was fi rst created.
The drive is breathtaking; every curve and point to
pause offers a different perspective on the caldera and
its steep walls that rise from 500 to 2,000 feet above the
lake’s surface.
Dotted at times with hemlocks, rock slides of scree
and jagged rock faces of the walls plummet into the
water, leaving little to no shoreline — reminders that
these are the innards of an ancient volcano.
Travel Oregon Photo
A view of Wizard Island, a cinder cone rising about 763 feet from the surface of the water. The butte was formed shortly after the formation of the caldera and sits on top of a larger volcano
that now sits below the lake’s surface.
Healthy breakfast on a busy school morning? It’s not so hard
By MELISSA RAYWORTH
Associated Press
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. —
Breakfast, as you may have
heard, is the most important
meal of the day. That’s espe-
cially true for kids returning
to school, who need fuel for
energy and learning.
But serving a healthy
breakfast can feel like one
more challenge for parents
trying to get themselves and
their kids out the door on
time.
Never fear. With a bit of
planning, breakfast can be
a great opportunity to get
dairy, fi ber, fruits and even
vegetables into a child’s diet.
And it doesn’t have to be
complicated.
“It’s not like there’s one
perfect breakfast,” says Jes-
sica Jaeger, a registered
dietitian at Adelphi Univer-
sity in Garden City, New
York.
Just try to include a mix
of proteins, complex carbs
from whole grains and
healthy fats.
“This helps stabilize
blood sugar and appetite,”
Jaeger says.
Diane Dembicki, an
associate professor of nutri-
tion who works with Jaeger
at Adelphi, suggests involv-
ing kids in decision making,
and even in prep work the
night before.
Avoid the packaged fro-
zen breakfast sandwiches
and “breakfast bars” that
have names that suggest
nutrition but are often high
in sugar and fat, Dembicki
says.
A few strategies for plan-
ning good breakfasts on
school mornings:
Eggs can be easy
Try make-ahead egg
cups or breakfast burritos.
Kirsten Clodfelter, a mom
of three from Louisville,
Kentucky, does meal prep
on Sundays with the help of
her oldest, who is 7. They
scramble eggs with a vari-
ety of chopped add-ins (sau-
sage with diced onion and
peppers, or perhaps bacon
and spinach), and then put
the eggs in a tortilla with a
bit of cold cheese and wrap
it in foil (for reheating in
AP Photo/Melissa Rayworth
Nutritionists say a bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit added will
give kids a dose of whole grain and vitamins on school morn-
ings, and to save time it can be made the night before in a
Mason jar or slow-cooker.
the oven the next morning)
or plastic wrap (for reheat-
ing in the microwave), and
freeze it. You can cut the
burrito in half for little kids.
Choose whole-grain torti-
llas or fl atbread.
Another
make-ahead
option: Fill the cups of a
muffi n tin with a mix of
egg, veggies and meat, then
bake. Once they’ve cooled,
pop them out and freeze
or refrigerate the individ-
ual egg cups. Then quickly
microwave them at break-
fast time, served with a
piece of fresh fruit.
Grains can be quick
Try topping whole-grain
toast or a whole-grain waf-
fl e with natural nut butter,
sliced bananas or other fresh
fruit on top, and perhaps a
drizzle of honey.
Use natural peanut butter
or another natural spread,
rather than a brand that’s
high in sugar. “I found that
starting my kids early with
natural peanut butter meant
they really didn’t ask for the
sweeter stuff,” says Sarah
Shemkus, of Gloucester,
Massachusetts.
Dembicki also recom-
mends avocado, which has
healthy monounsaturated
fat and is high in vitamins.
Consider a quick avocado
toast on whole-grain bread,
served with a hard-boiled
egg and piece of fruit.
Another
whole-grain
option: overnight oats made
in a Mason jar, or oatmeal
set up the night before in a
slow-cooker. Let kids choose
their ingredients, including
fruits and nuts. By fl avoring
the oatmeal yourself rather
than buying prefl avored, the
sugar is kept low.
For kids who prefer a
cold breakfast, try Greek
yogurt with fl axseed, gra-
nola and fresh fruit mixed
in, and perhaps a bit of
honey. Hard-boiled eggs
also go well with this.
Some families pack
an entire breakfast into a
blender to create smooth-
ies. Fresh fruit, yogurt or
milk, peanut butter and even
greens can go in. Clodfelter
got her kids to embrace
spinach in smoothies by
adding it to a berry blend
and calling them “Christ-
mas smoothies,” since the
green fl ecks of spinach were
combined with red berries.
Or bake healthy muf-
fi ns in advance. Search for
recipes with plenty of fruit
or nuts and whole grains.
Make a large batch and
freeze them. Veggies can be
hidden in many muffi n rec-
ipes, and are front-and-cen-
ter in recipes like carrot-rai-
sin muffi ns.
And don’t forget din-
ner for breakfast: Not every
kid likes typical American
“breakfast foods,” and that’s
fi ne, Dembicki says. If they
have favorite dinner meals,
make extra and pack left-
overs in small containers
for easy reheating the next
morning.