On Friday March 11th, 16 of the 19 participants in the Club’s Crater Lake NP weekend began with a tour from the park’s North Entrance (closed as usual in winter) to the Pumice Desert. It was a perfect day: no wind, no clouds, and 50 degrees.
The skiers headed south about 2 miles on the entrance road along a snowmobile track, before leaving the road and heading southwest. The fun begins here with skiing through an old burn and doing some turns.
Once through the burn, a few green trees appear, marking the north edge of the Pumice Desert. It is also a good place to stop for lunch, as the first 2-3 miles are mostly uphill. From this point, the desert opens up, allowing you to ski anywhere you want. There was a magical feeling with this kind of propitious weather and high blue sky. There are no hills here, just wide open space for cruising. It’s easy to lose track of how far you’ve gone, though by the day’s end the group had covered 8 good miles!
Back at the historic Prospect Hotel, the temperature was still a moderate 50 degrees, perfect for loitering outside!
Hotel-keeper Fred welcomed our group with a special sign. Later that evening, he was officially recognized as the birthday boy and honored by his wife with a home-made crown.
