Dates 28,29AUG- Mowich, Wonderland Trail Attempt, 31AUG-02SEPT Century Drive, Crater Lake Loop Success
I had planned on 9 days to do the Wonderland loop, starting at Mowich Lake. All looked good at the start. . .
Unfortunately, it started to rain the first night, and we were rather wet by the second day. After lengthy and careful consideration, realizing that the rain was not going to let up, we decided to abandon ship.
Otherwise, we would have never seen the mountain, even when the weather let up a bit. Therefore, we headed home and decided to do some cycle riding. We decided to do a loop around Mt. Batchelor (Century Loop) as well as a ride I failed last year, from Diamond Lake around Crater Lake, and back to Diamond Lake. The weather was fantastic for both rides. The first (Century Drive) was 54 miles, but only 764 ft. elevation gain. In spite of that, I wasn’t feeling the best a few days before and seemed to be killed by the hills.
Thus, I was quite worried about the Crater Lake loop, which is nothing but climbing. We drove down to Diamond Lake and camped there. The next day, we attacked with vigor. I didn’t think I was going to make it but took up a slow pace, and five hours later, 64 miles, and 6000 ft. elevation gain, arrived back at Diamond Lake with big grins on our faces. It was wonderful being able to finally complete the loop.
My bike again did a fantastic job of keeping us going. Traffic was light, and we met only one other rider, a retired school teacher from Phoenix, AZ with a titanium bicycle. He was getting some end-of-season riding in. Sounds like a great thing to do in retirement. This ride around Crater Lake is a classic that I wouldn’t mind repeating from time to time.
