Day 3 began early – the day begins with a climb to the highest point of the trip – the rim of a dormant volcano called Crater Lake. Woke at 5:30 am and got going to take advantage of any relatively cool morning temperatures.

The morning weather was in the low 60’s, dry, and sunny.

Ate breakfast (dried fruit, nuts and M&M’s) at Diamond Lake (elevation 5,190 feet). For the Crater Lake climb, I adopted a summit strategy used by mountain climbers – establishing  a base camp and leaving most of the gear/supplies at base camp. This strategy reduces weight and bulk for the final climb. Left the hammock hung in place at the Diamond Lake camp site, stowed gear in the hammock that was not essential for the climb to Crater Lake, and left it behind. Took water, food for lunch only, bike repair gear (tools for fixing flats, inner tube, and chain repair tool), and a phone for photos. Removed bike bags and stored essential gear in my backpack.

While riding through the Diamond Lake campground on my way out, I saw what appeared to be a campsite with a fleet of firefighting vehicles. Heavy duty trucks of various kinds occupied the campground – tankers, personnel transport, flatbeds, and pickups loaded with firefighting equipment. I learned (later on) that this was the local staging and headquarters for the US Forest Service Bunker Hill forest fire effort (the fire that was raging around Lemelo Lake). The firefighters fought the fire, and slept at the Diamond Lake campground when not working the fire.

The uphill climb began immediately upon leaving Diamond Lake. Arrived at the entrance to Crater Lake National Park in the early morning.

I continued my climb in the Crater Lake National Park. The trees and foliage disappeared as I climbed through what is called the “Pumice Desert” on the northwest side of the dormant volcano.

This bike climb was a surreal experience for a flatlander from Texas. As the temperature warmed, and the sun beat down, my body felt the altitude in the climb from Diamond Lake. The 13.5 mile climb from Diamond Lake to the Crater Lake Rim (Merriam Point) is a killer. It is a long Category 3 climb, followed by a long Category 2 climb (see biking definition of category climbs). And at altitude. Ouch.

Arrived at Crater Lake Rim, Merriam Point (elevation 7,317 feet) at 10:15 am. A cool, refreshing lake breeze floated up to the rim’s wall and greeted my over-heated body. My eyes drank in the amazingly gorgeous vista laid out before me.  A great sense of personal accomplishment washed over me! Thank you Jesus and praise God!

---

“Getting to the top is nothing. The way you get there is everything.” – Royal Robbins

---

Rested and refueled at the Crater Lake Rim, eating M&M’s, nuts, and dried fruit. I sat in the shade of a grove of weathered pine trees, with its roots dug into the rim’s edge. I looked with wonder, overlooking the lake’s pristine, deep-blue waters and its unique beauty. God created an amazing masterpiece in this one. Photos do not do justice to Crater Lake’s splendor.

                  

Now for some fun – descending! After climbing for several days, descending is such a joy! Saddled up and headed back down the road from Crater Lake to Diamond Lake. Descending skills include always looking ahead, scanning for hazards, and knowing how to use the mountain bike’s disc brakes well. What a joy to coast down the mountain to Diamond Lake, riding the brakes most of the time! The brakes held up well and did their job.

Arrived back at Diamond lake “base camp” at 12:30 pm. Broke camp, stowed gear on bike, and pedaled to Diamond Lake Resort’s restaurant for a “celebration meal”. A cheeseburger, fries, a milkshake, and 4 glasses of ice-water. The waiter was interested in my bikepacking trip and was inquisitive about hammock camping, bike gear stowage, and methods for navigation.

Saddled back up and rode the mostly downhill route to Lemelo Lake. I was mid-afternoon and the temperature had climbed into the mid-90’s. A smoke plume from the Bunker Hill forest fire loomed larger and larger as I approached Lake Lemelo.

Arrived at Lemolo Lake at 4:30 pm (elevation 4,142 feet). I camped at Poole Creek campground on the west side of the lake. Made camp and went down to the lake shore to see the forest fire from across the lake. As I walked through the campground to the lake shore, I saw U.S. Forest Service firefighting trucks parked at the campground. Firefighters were taking a break from their exhausting work in the unusually hot weather, napping in their vehicles. I raised up a brief prayer of blessing for them.

The Bunker Hill fire burned on the north side of the lake. The fire started as a result of lightening several days earlier. The wind was currently blowing west to east – driving the smoke eastward. I was sitting on a lake dock, less than a mile from the fire, with a clear view. The fire raged. During daylight hours I saw mostly smoke, but every few minutes a pine tree would burst into flame all at once, the flameout lasting about five seconds, followed by subsiding flames turning into smoke, and finally turning into smoke only.

I talked with the Lemolo Lake resort personnel, and they reported that several roads on the north and the west side of the lake were closed by the U.S. Forest Service due to fire danger and due to fire operations. I found that one of the closed roads was a road I needed to use to get to the North Umpqua River trail. This was an unexpected problem in my trek plan. I talked with Forest Service personnel and they suggested that I might be able to fjord the Umpqua river downstream, carrying my bike across. They said the river was down due to less snow, and a dryer than normal weather pattern.

So I consulted my maps and re-routed my path for a river crossing several downstream downstream of the Lake Lemelo dam.

Cleaned and inspected bike and gear. Took a sponge bath with a bandana (bandanas are useful for many things – sponge baths, head shade, a rag, etc.) Went to sleep with the brilliant moon shining down on the whispering of the pines. Every once in a while through the dark, I would hear the “whump” of a tree falling in the fire zone across the lake. A large tree falling is a very distinct sound – a large “whump”as it crashes to the ground. This was a new, never-heard-before sound for my ears.

Tomorrow promises the classic Northwest mountain biking trail – the North Umpqua River Trail. I am about to enter the least populated wilderness on the trip (meaning no cell coverage). So I am about to go “dark” for a few days.

The days ride was approximately 43 miles.

Rough map of the Day 3 ride.

---

Day 4 – Lemelo Lake to Toketee Lake via the North Umpqua River Trail