Woke up with all 3 members of our party in the tent, sort of. Mom and Nick had both burrowed their way completely into their sleeping bags to escape the cold. It was the only night that I have been cold in my sleeping bag ever. I wasn’t really cold, but I could feel the temperature. As soon as I got out of the tent I was cold though. The sky was still that gorgeous blue that it was the day before. We actually decided to treat ourselves to the good life and went to the restaurant of the campground for a breakfast buffet. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was awesome. The building was cool, the waitress was nice, and the food was amazing. Some of the best breakfast buffet I have ever had.
From there we were fueled up and ready to tackle the day. We didn’t want to do any hikes that were super long, so we did a couple shorter hikes. The first one was only 2 miles and took us to a gorgeous waterfall, which we assumed was from the lake. It still could have been from snowmelt considering there were snow piles pretty much all over the park. They had ~700 in of snow that winter, which they cleverly said was equivalent to getting 1.8 in/day for an entire year. The snow banks around the park were still 30’ tall into the beginning of May.
We then made our way to a couple other points on the Rim Drive and then headed for our last hike in Crater Lake. This was the only trail that you could take to the water. It was only 2 mi RT, but was similar to the Grand Canyon hike; 700’ down then 700’ up. We were on a little bit of a time crunch because we had tee time for 3:00 in Bend, OR. So off we went. Nick and I were passing everyone on the trail, but the water never seemed to get closer. That’s when you know you are pretty far away from your destination. As we finally got closer to the water, we had a bird’s eye view looking into the lake, and you could see everything. It was a rocky shoreline, and you could see rocks through the water at least 40 feet off the shore. When we arrived at the shore, the water was even clearer, but it was cold. I asked the rangers there, and they said the top 18” was about ~55 and everything below that was in the 40’s. Sounds just like the cold plunge pool from Amangiri. So of course, I had to take the plunge. And it just so happened that there was a perfect cliff to jump off of. I didn’t need to worry about the landing because I could see 40’ into the water. I had changed into my jammer before we headed to the water, so it was Jammer Bro taking the plunge in Crater Lake (sometimes I hate myself). This was one of the biggest rushes I had felt in a long, long time. Just thinking about it now gives me the chills. I was looking into the most pristine water, surrounded by cliffs and mountains, about to jump 35 feet into 45 degree water. As soon as I hit the water, I felt alive and reborn. It was like some sort of weird ULTRA baptism. I then swam around for a little just soaking it in, literally. Then it was time to head up the trail and onto Bend. God, that felt good. Nick and I attempted to run up the trail, but only made it about 200 yards before our bodies reminded us that we were sea-level dwelling creatures at 6500’ above sea level. I can’t imagine the type of shape I could be in if I lived in higher elevation; maybe one day I’ll find out…
So we hit the road for Bend, OR. We had a 3:00 tee time at Lost Tracks Golf Club and it was going to be my belated Mother’s Day present to Mom. We got to the course at 2:50, but then ran into a little bit of an issue. One of the collared shirts I had brought, got left behind somewhere, so then I had to buy one from the pro shop. It sucks that happened, but I think I have bought 3 polo shirts in the past 5 years due to consistent hand-me-downs from my Dad. Besides this shirt would serve as a souvenir for playing at the course. We quickly gathered ourselves and got out onto the course. A very nice man played with us, and he used to play the course quite a lot when he lived in Bend. He was giving us all sorts of tips on how to hit shots since there were a lot of dog legs on the course. It was a very fun time, and the course was just beautiful. The terrain was still very arid, but with pine trees and mountains; it was desert course meets mountain course. The greens, fairways, and rough were in great condition, even though the rough was thick as hell. We all played OK, but we were more there for the experience. It was a great time on a great course. We then headed to the hotel and ate a tasty dinner at Applebee’s. I think we were all pretty pooped after that, and it was straight to bed. ULTRA life has been under the radar for the past couple days, but it is coming back full force. ULTRA day 18/39: COMPLETE
JM
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