Swimming in Volcanoes

Krista and I went to Crater Lake for our anniversary and we had a great time. We stayed in the least expensive of the lodge hotel rooms (the ones that look out on the parking lot... but we could see the lake if we walked down the hall to the elevators). Krista has put up a few pictures from our time here.

I wanted to share about how I went swimming in the caldera of the volcano. Crater Lake is the deepest lake (by the "mean depth" method) in North America, and the clearest lake in the world. It's amazing. It's filled completely by runoff from snow and rain, and there's a natural layer of gravel that somehow regulates the water so it never overflows the basin.

I was pretty excited to go swimming in the lake, because how often do you get to swim in a volcano?

And yes, it was cold.  Once I hit the water I couldn't breathe, and not just because I was under water.  There was hyperventilation involved in the short swim back to the dock.  And yes, I know you can tell from the picture that I have a thick pelt of fur that gives me an advantage over the average man in the arctic cold.  But still... brrr.  I loved it, though, it was really fun.  I convinced some kids who were hanging out on the dock to jump in, too.