What a morning we woke up to. It was 40 degrees out side and in the camper it was 50. Needless to say we didn’t get out of bed until 9:30 or 10. It will get hot but it cools off nicely in the evening to about 60.
We went back up to Crate Lake and visited areas we did not see yesterday. The first trail we picked was Godfrey Glen since it was 1.6 miles but mostly flat land and shaded. By the time we got there it was 12:30. The Shasta red fir-mountain hemlock forest was beautiful. Snowfalls average 50ft per winter at 6200 ft elevation, which seems to be perfect for the trees. The glen was filled to a depth of 250 ft. when the avalanches poured through the canyon when Mt. Mazama blew her stack with pumice.
We then went to Phantom ship overlook. Someone thought it resembled a pirate ship. The island is as tall as a 16 story building and is made of an erosion resistant rock that is 400,000 yrs. Old – the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.
Pinnacles Overlook was our next hike, about a mile. There is a colorful collection of 100ft spires that are being eroded from the canyon wall. The spires are “fossil fumaroles” each marking a spot where volcanic gas rose up through hot ash deposits, cementing the ash into solid rock.
Cloudcap Overlook is the highest point on the rim drive at 1790ft above the water. Whitebark pines struggle for survival here because of the harsh winds.
On the way out I found obsidian rocks. They are rocks thrown out of the volcano and cooled quickly making them like glass. Native Americans made points and artifacts out of them. This culminated all the volcanic rocks I had seen capping off another great day. If you have a chance take a course in geology. It makes road trips so enjoyable. Thanks Susan Maxey.
You will have to wait for the beautiful pictures. Still not able to upload.
No comments:
Post a Comment