Day 40: To Mazama campground, Crater Lake

August 18, 2009

I got away from the motel at 8:25AM under sunny skies. It was still cool, but the weather is forecast to be much warmer today. US highway 97 north of Klamath Falls has heavy truck traffic but also a decent shoulder. I was warned about being squeezed into retaining walls, but the narrowest part of the shoulder is 4 feet wide and most of the shoulder is much wider.

US 97 closely follows the east shore of Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon's largest lake. A railroad track is always between the highway and the lake, but there is still a good view of the lake and the Cascades behind the lake. I stopped briefly at the campground I had considered camping at. It was next to the busy highway and mosquitoes were terrible. I'm glad I didn't camp there. Mosquitoes and various flies were a problem whenever I was close to the lake.

Klamath Lake, railroad and US97. The mountain on the left is 9495-foot Mt. McLoughlin.

West of the lake is 9495-foot Mt. McLoughlin, the highest mountain in the southern Oregon Cascades.

Mt. McLoughlin rises 5300 feet above the Klamath Basin.

I hiked to the summit of Mt. McLoughlin on September 15 (3 weeks after the tour). Here's the view from the summit looking down on Klamath Lake (upper right).

When US 97 turns away from Klamath Lake I turned left onto Modoc Point road. It was a relief to escape the traffic. This road takes me to Agency Lake, where for a few miles the irrigated farms give way to upscale acreage housing developments overlooking Agency Lake and the Cascades.

Agency Lake. In the distance is 8925-foot Mt. Scott and the mountains that form Crater Lake.

Williamson River Indian Mission United Methodist Church.

After 12 flat buggy miles Modoc Point road merges with Highway 62, heading northwest towards Crater Lake and Medford. There was little traffic but the road had ejection seat cracks. I stopped for lunch at the rustic Fort Klamath General Store. The talkative owner had to show me his favorite new gun.

Highway 62 heading towards Crater Lake. The lake is behind these mountains.

5 miles past Fort Klamath the road starts to climb. The road was almost perfectly flat for 45 miles, but now I start the climb to Crater Lake. It's not a huge climb because the Klamath valley is 4175 feet elevation. Irrigated fields and wetlands give way to Lodgepole pines, and the insects disappear.

The road changes dramatically at the entrance to Crater Lake National Park. Suddenly I was riding on hours-old chipseal. I climbed the mountain grade for miles on gooey fresh chipseal. By the time I got to Mazama Village it wasn't so bad because the chipseal was 1 or 2 days old. But I was glad to have fenders. Otherwise tar would be splattered all over the bike.

Fresh sticky chipseal inside Crater Lake National Park.

Highway 62 climbs on the left side of Annie Creek canyon. The creek is hundreds of feet below. I stopped to look straight down on Annie Falls, but trees blocked the view. Later I had a decent view of tufa pinnacles on the canyon wall.

At 4:30 I arrived at the huge Mazama Village campground (6004 feet elevation). I got the 4th from last campsite. I wasn't happy that it cost $27, but my site was a half acre private forest. I took a shower at the fancy pay shower facility and stocked up on groceries. Several Pacific Crest Trail hikers were hanging around the store. There were no bear lockers when I camped here on a bike tour in 1998, but now all the campsites have bear lockers.

Today was slightly warmer than yesterday even though I gained 1800 feet of elevation. Still pleasant, though, with a high of about 85F. Tomorrow is predicted to be warmer still.

Distance: 57.2 mi (91.5 km)

Climbing: 2435 ft (738 m)

Average speed: 9.0 mph (14.4 km/h)

Max speed: 23.5 mph (38 km/h)

Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 1,748 miles (2,813 km)

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