Cleetwood Cove Trail – Crater Lake National Park

We take a day off from the PCT for the enchanting Crater Lake. We notice that the national park is not designed for hikers, since we can take a shuttle from the distant campground to Rim Village - but not any further. All stops around the gigantic lake can only be reached by car. And of course we didn't. So we try our luck by hitchhiking. Unfortunately, the masses of tourists don't know what to do with us and so I almost give up. It takes an hour before a couple finally stops at Rim Village and even has the same goal as us: a swim in Cleetwood Cove, which wraps around the lake and is the only point of access to the water. We gratefully get in and look forward to our refreshing swim in the deep blue crater lake. The way down is steep, but neither up nor down is a problem for us. Only the cheeky chipmunks have no respect at all and take advantage of the moment when Amazon and I splash around in the water to nibble on my backpack. 🐿 The way back to our campground is also a small challenge for us. It takes some time again, then an older couple takes us with them. She likes to stop at every vantage point she can think of to take photos. So we get offered a round trip right away. And in the end they even take us directly to the campground. Luckily, because we would have missed the only afternoon shuttle. 😂