Waldo Lake

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 23:59:59 -800

Originally, my hiker friends and I had planned to take an extended backpacking
trip through the Wallowa mountains this weekend. That fell apart when people
couldn't get vacation time, so we went to Waldo Lake in the south of Oregon
to car camp instead. Waldo Lake is about 75 miles southeast of Eugene way up
in the mountains around 6,400 feet. The lake, being that high up, is fed by
a spring and has just one outflow, which means that it is ultraoligotropic--
very few creatures living in the water. I arrived with Eliza just before
sundown on Friday after dining at the local redneck burger joint and had just
enough time to throw down a tent before I couldn't see anymore. Saturday,
Dave pulled out the canoe and kayaks that he'd brought down and we took turns
paddling around the lake. Because there's nothing growing in the water, it
is extremely blue and clear--one can see at least 100 feet down! When night
came a few of us went out with a star chart to have a look at the skies and
spy constellations.