The world’s most beautiful lake

A week ago we left our mansion, and returned the traveling life. The dish washer was replaced by washing dishes in freezing campground water; the luxurious king-size bed was replaced by a camping mattress in a tent; And the four adults taking care of three kids became two again, after my parents flew back to Israel.
I think we had an ideal break in the middle of our travels – our time in northern Oregon was terrific, and further, seemed to have charged all of us with a lot of energy and eagerness to return to the much more rustic manner of our usual travels. We’re hiking a lot, almost every day, and the last lag of our journey - between Portland and the bay area in California – is planned to consist mostly of National Parks and camping.

After spending a day in Portland, with our friends Tamir, Yafit, Roni & Gili, we headed south towards Crater Lake National Park. For a long time, Crater Lake was very high on my list, and it became one of the few anchors when we started planning this trip. I was anxiously waiting to see the famous lake, the deepest in the US, which is literally a crater that was created 7500 years ago by a volcanic eruption. Unlike most lakes on the planet, there are no rivers going in or out, and the only water source is precipitation, balanced by seepage and evaporation.
Hence, imagine my disappointment when we got to Crater Lake, and saw mostly haze. The many fires in northern California, combined with winds blowing in an unfortunate direction, turned the legendary lake into a mildly impressive one. The steep mile-long hike down to the water was still beautiful, but nothing you’d define as spectacular. We were hoping that the right we've reserved, to freeze in a tent for 3 nights (although mid-summer August, there was hardly a sign of warmth!) would pay off. And it did, big-time!! The following day, with some trick of the weather gods, the haze was entirely gone, and the first glimpse we got of the lake was something one would fail to describe. But I’ll try anyway... The water is extremely clear, causing it to absorb an unusual amount of sun beams. Most importantly, it absorbs most colors and reflects only a very sharp and dark shade of blue. Not turquoise like in glacier-fed lakes, not greenish like algae-filled lakes, but vivid blue. When we were there, the winds prevented reflections of the surrounding peaks in the water, which only intensified the spectacle. Add the fact that the lake is small enough to be caught by your eyes in its entirety from certain view-points, as well as a small volcano-shaped island scattered with picture-like cedar trees, and you get unmatched beauty. The kind you gaze at for many minutes, trying to convince yourself it is real.
I love lakes. I was lucky to see several magnificent ones, most notably in Tibet and New Zealand. But I have never before seen a lake as beautiful as Crater Lake.

Giora