Crater Lake
A Wizard Encounter
Crater Lake was like a bowl of cerulean blue water, the sides of the bowl made of crusty snow. Afloat in the middle of the bowl was Wizard Island, a chunk of land covered in trees.
Patty leaps out of a tree into the snowy slope of Crater Lake, 1986
It was 1986. We had given, sold and stored away our life’s possessions, left our business to the management of a trusted friend, bought a small camper, and headed north on April Fool’s Day on a nine-month journey around the North American continent. We were now about a month into our journey and reveled in the beauty of Oregon.
Wizardry at Crater Lake
As a wizard himself, Mark was fascinated with the island and to capture it on his still camera, went as far beyond the “Warning: Do Not Go Past This Sign” sign as he dared. He figured the substantial-looking snowbound slope would be able to hold his feather weight (128 pounds–the weight I’d always wanted to be, but had hurtled about ten pounds beyond.)
I detected surprise and a little panic in his voice when he called me. “Oh Patty, you’d better come and help me. But be careful.”
I’d been checking out the sensational views, enjoying the absence of other humans. We had the place to ourselves.
“What’s going on?” I ventured toward him, mystified to see only his head, shoulders and arms above the snow line.
Uh Oh, A Scary Moment
“I’ve fallen through. My feet are hanging in mid-air. You have to pull me out. But you’ve got to be very careful not to fall through yourself. Get down on your belly and crawl over, slowly.”
I did so. When I reached him, he handed me the camera. “Here, take this, and put it back behind you.”
I did.
“Okay, now, grab my hands and pull me.”
I held on, as he shimmied up out of the hole. I did not mention to Mark that the snow beneath me gave a little under my weight, then fortunately equalized. Then I dragged Mark forward as he crawled away from the endless abyss.
When he’d reached safety he said, “Whew, that was close. There was nothing but air under that snow.”
“I guess next time you’ll pay attention to those warning signs, hmm?”
“Not necessarily,” he said. “But you can bet I’ll be a lot more careful in a situation like that.” He grinned. “You saved my life. That calls for a celebration. I’m taking you out to dinner!”
In conclusion, see below, the video that ensued, shot at Crater Lake on a bright day when the sun sparkled on the snow, on the adventure of our lives in 1986.
