Lindberg flew over Crater Lake in 1927.

Mrs. Gantz from Lone Pine School

Lone Pine School – Come properly dressed for all kinds of weather. It snowed two days before our September fieldtrip. We played in the snow rather than hiking trails.

Watchman Overlook – A September snow storm.

Fresh September snow!

Proper Winter Clothing in 1910.

Dressed up to go skiing!

Roosevelt School 6th grade. These kids came prepared for a blizzard and they got one!

First Stop – Natural Bridge - where the Rogue River disappears underground

Before the people bridge was built we took the kids across the real Natural Bridge.

On the real Natural Bridge.

The People Bridge.

Notice the Kayak being dropped into the Rogue River.

Second Stop – Godfrey Glen A glaciated valley filled in with a pyroclastic flow

Dressed for winter in September..

Godfrey Glen

Godfrey Glen - Can you find the missing mountain?

Nick and Mike look alike.

3rd Stop – The Watchman – are you ready for lunch at 8,025 feet?

Weather permitting. Pack it in / Pack it out! Bring a jacket, it can be windy.

Let’s get started – The Crater Rim Run

Hiking up the Watchman in July back in the day when it used snow at Crater Lake. Hike led by Ranger Larry Smith.

The Watchman Fire lookout built in 1932Elevation: 8025 feet

2,000 feet straight down to the Lake.

Look at those polished boots!

1940

Larry Smith with granddaughter DeeDee.

It was so snowy there was no place to sit for lunch.

4th Stop – Cleetwood Cove Trail

1.2 miles down to the water

Elevation gain of 656 feet

First the safety talk. No running on the trail. No rock throwing. No trail cutting. Llao Rock in the background.

You are looking into the purest and clearest lake in the world!

Heading out to pick up the tour boats.

Heading out to pick up the tour boats.

The yellow floating “scum” is actually millions of pine pollen grains.

Pine pollen - Natural polution – It floats for a few weeks and then water logs and sinks.

Cleetwood Cove – Notice the row boats that used to be available for rent. But no more.

During the summers of 1975 and 1976 Crater Lake rose enough to completely cover the dock at Cleetwood Cove. The Lake rises and falls 2 – 5 feet each year depending on precipitation.

The new million dollar dock at Cleetwood Cove.

Crater Lake is very cold!

Amber Smith

Michi Fujikaki sunning himself against a warm rock after a very cold swim. Michi used to attend Jacksonville School.

5th grader Greg White from Jacksonville.

Grant Hilton walked all the way down the Cleetwood Cove Trail on crutches.

And back.

It poured rain on these kids down at Cleetwood Cove. They were soaked.

Oh the burn! – climbing from 6,175 feet up to 6,831 feet.

5th Stop – Sinnott Memorial Overlook

1,000 feet straight down to the water while hugging onto a sheer cliff!

This is the way lady rangers used to dress. The high heels worked well in the soft pumice.

Ranger Larry Smith giving a geology talk at the Sinnott Overlook.

6th Stop – Crater Lake Lodge

7th Stop - The Rim Village Café - Snack, drinks, and VERY expensive souvenirs

Mt. Lassen erupting May 1915

The May 1915 eruption of Mt. Lassen as seen from downtown Redbluff, California.

Built

Blew

Fell

Filled

Now, a look at three Italian volcanoes. Italy is one of the most volcanic areas in the world.

What is this building?

Larry Smith waving from near the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

185 feet tall

4 degrees of lean

842 years old

Looking across the Bay of Naples at Mt. Vesuvius

Over 3,000 people died on August 24, AD 79.

Pompeii was rediscovered in 1748. The soft ash allowed easy digging.

Over 1,000 plaster body casts have been made.

The unearthed city of Pompii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. Glowing avalanches/pyroclastic flows of volcanic ash from Vesuvius in AD 79 completely covered the prosperous city of Pompii, killing thousands of people.

The summit of Mt. Vesuvius.

Larry Smith on the summit of Mt. Vesuvius, April 2015.

The island of Vulcano is about 18 miles off the coast of the Italian “boot toe”. Named after the Roman god, Vulcan. The ancient Romans believed it to be the chimney of the fire god Vulcan's workshop. It is from this island’s name that we get the word “Volcano”. The island is made up of several volcanoes. The last eruption was in 1890.

Gentle and placid Mt. St. Helens prior to its 1980 catistophic eruption.

Mt. St. Helens erupting on May 18, 1980.

Mount Pinatubo, the Philippines, June 15, 1991. Oh the destruction!

How would you like to be driving this truck?

Pyroclastic flows (glowing avalanches) roar down mountain sides at speeds of over 100 miles per hour.

Rim Drive, Crater Lake National Park, June 1961. Larry and Lloyd Smith’s ‘57 Chevy.

Rim Drive, March 2015, VIP Ranger Larry Smith visiting with hikers. Hikers? In March at Crater Lake? Where is the snow?

Rim Drive, March 2015, VIP Ranger Larry Smith visiting with hikers.

June 1971 Park Headquarters. Annual snowfall at Crater Lake has dropped from 600 inches (50 feet) to 196 inches in 2015 (17 feet). But precipitation was normal at 68 in.

Little Brian Smith, who eventually grew up and climbed Mt. Everest is looking out the second story window.

Winter 2013 -2014

Winter 2014 – 2015 Only 196 inches of snow.

Charlie True drove the first car to the Rim of Crater Lake in August 14, 1907. The trip took four days from Medford.

It was a brand new REO car, which eventually became the Oldsmobile.

Rich people dressed fancy when they visited national parks 80 years ago.

Imagine feeding bears while wearing a fur coat!

“Jeff finds a friend.”

Crater Lake bears had names.

“Pete’s turn.”

“Fritz gets his….”

“Preparing for winter.”

Lloyd Smith attempting to feed a bear at the Park’s garbage dump. Some days we would see as many at 20 bears feeding off the garbage. The dump has since been closed.

A lard bucket found at the dump. Don’t stick your nose into other people’s business.

Is this safe? The sign reads, “DANGER! KEEP BACK!”

Using the “Keep Back” sign as a tripod for their camera and stepping in the danger zone.

These folks were lucky, they climbed back over the rock wall uninjured. Unlike so many others .

Swimming Crater Lake twice.

The GPS map proves they did it.

When first discovered Crater Lake had no fish. In 1888 - 35 rainbow trout were dumped into the lake.

Eventually over 1.7 million fish were poured into Crater Lake. Lake stocking ceased in 1940.

Only rainbow trout and kokanee salmon have survivied.

You can fish in Crater Lake without a fishing license.

The boy is Greg Tinseth with a nice rainbow trout and 5 kokanee salmon.

Kokanee are land locked within the waters of Crater Lake. Without a trip to the ocean they stay very small.

Brian Smith and Greg Tinseth from Jacksonville with a nice mess of kokanee salmon.

Crayfish are not native to Crater Lake. They were introduced 100 years ago to provide food for the fish that were introduced into the lake 130 years ago. Both non native introductions have upset the pristine balance of Crater Lake.

Crayfish now infest 90 % of the lakeshore.

In 1924 Crater Lake froze over. One of only two times in 100 years.

In 1949 Crater Lake froze over for the second time & was frozen for nearly 3 months.

March 1949 – Two park rangers skied over to Wizard Island.

A Tucker SnoCat, from Medford, cruising along the Rim of Crater Lake. You cannot do this any more.

Larry Smith digging out his Jeep after a major snow dump.

Road Kill

Ranger Larry Smith pulling a road-killed deer off the road.

Its mama was killed by a car.

Phantom Ship – Ranger Larry Smith is on board the tour boat.

Find the Phantom Ship. See now why it is called a “phantom”?

Ranger Larry Smith on board.

The Old Man of the Lake. This up-right floating hemlock log has been cruising Crater Lake for over 120 years. “He” travels about 20 miles a month. Pushed by the wind.

The Lady of the Woods was carved out of solid lava rock by Dr. Russell Bush in 1917.

Later on when it was “discovered”, people thought it was the mummy of an Indian woman encased in a pumice flow from Mt. Mazama.

“Older than the pyramids of Egypt”, they claimed.

A major disaster. The boathouse burns on Wizard Island. 1972

The boathouse on Wizard Island burned far into the night. The fire crew can be seen arriving by boat. The boat being built on the Island can be seen sitting near the shore.

Ranger Lloyd Smith and his mount – Duke.

Ranger Lloyd Smith

Doing what Ranger Larry Smith does best – picking up garbage and cigarette butts.

A hot trailer wheel bearing ended this family’s dream vacation to Crater Lake National Park

“My owner told me I had to wear a helmet.”

The Cleetwood – the first scientific boat on the Lake – August 1886. Using a reel of piano wire the crew measured the Lake’s depth at 1996 feet. The 2nd deepest lake in the world at that time. Eventually, using sonar in 2000, the Lake was measured at 1943 feet.

Over the years, boats on Crater Lake have been slid down the rim, built on the island, and flown in by helicopter.

Most of the early boats were crushed by heavy snows. Finally strong boat houses were built keeping some of the boats on the Lake for 40 years.

Sometimes the roads were so bad the cars would just fall apart.