The flight from Crescent Lake to Sunriver took us over a different type of landscape to that of the flight from McKenzie Bridge. The terrain is relatively level and trees are more thinly planted. A large lake (Davis Lake) and two large reservoirs (Crane Prairie Reservoir and Wicklup Reservoir) dominate the view and as these are accessible by more major roads provide outdoor activities for holiday makers.

Davis Lake with the Three Sisters and Mount Bachelor in the background.

Between Davis lake and Wicklup Reservoir a large lava field can be seen. Apparently the lava was produced from an eruption back in 2790 BC and this blocked the flow of water from Odell Lake which in turned formed Davis Lake (isn’t the internet great!).

Some of the lava that helped create Davis Lake.

The very southern tip of Wicklup Reservoir and northern tip of the lava field.

The Sisters and Mount Bachelor.

10 miles out from Sunriver I made a call to the airport Unicom for a wind report, the only other source of this information in the area is the AWOS at Bend Airport but the wind can vary greatly around the mountains and the information that it provided could have lead us astray. Luckily someone at Sunriver Airport answered my call and suggested that runway 36 was our best bet. A Mooney was on a straight in approach from the south so I opted for a left downwind approach to allow him to get in before we made our final approach. The view of the area from final was great, the Deschutes River could be seen winding it’s way northwards, the golf courses of the resort made the whole area green and the snowcapped peak of Mount Bachelor was bright and prominant just to the northwest.

Once on the ground we fuelled up and washed some of the bugs off the cowling and leading edges of the wings that we had ‘collected’ at McKenzie Bridge. My co-pilot got talking to the airport manager about camping as I parked Tango Charlie up on the busy transient ramp to the north of the apron. The sun was fully up, the skies were a great shade of blue and Mount Bachelor was creating a very nice backdrop to the airport, this was more like it!

Tango Charlie on the Sunriver apron with Mount Bachelor in the background.

Now, as you may or may not know, Sunriver is a holiday resort town for the more affluent type of person with rooms/suites costing up to $270/night . It has three world class golf courses, horse riding, swimming pools, tennis, etc….the place is very impressive. With no camping facilities in the immediate area my co-pilot presented me with her idea of staying at Sunriver for the night!! in fact she had already negotiated a favourable rate and was only ‘requiring’ my agreement, an agreement that would never be in doubt!

We borrowed two of the courtesy bicycles and started pedalling our way around the cycle path to the main resort lodge a half mile or so directly across the runway to the east. In the past it was possible to walk directly to the lodge across the runway but things have now changed, the choices now are to walk the 1.5 miles, cycle or request a pickup by the free bus.

Deschutes River which you cycle past on the way to the Sunriver Resort Lodge.

Our stay at Sunriver was a comfortable one. Our room had a balcony overlooking one of the golf courses, we had a large flat screen television to look at, a real gas log fire and most importantly a really comfortable bed. We used our courtesy bikes to cycle around the complex and to visit the resort shopping mall where we ate at one of the restaurants. We would recommend the resort to anyone…..if they have the money!

Thursday 2nd July, 2009

Early the next morning we checked out and returned to the airport before many of the resort guests had stirred, we wanted to fly over Crater Lake and then down to the town of Grants Pass and the weather was predicted to be very hot with thunderstorms a real possibility.

The wind was from the south, we would have a headwind all the way down to Crater Lake. We departed on runway 18 and started the slow and long climb up to the 10,500ft which was required to fly over the lake. Areas marked as ‘Wilderness’ areas on the pilot sectionals (navigation maps), including Crater Lake, should be flown over at 2,000ft above ground level or higher, as the lake lies at 8,500ft above sea level you have to be at 10,500ft or higher. Due to the altitude and temperature (later on in the day it would reach 104 degrees!) our climb was severely affected and averaged 200ft/min at 85 knots.

As it was early the sun was relatively low and this was causing the views to the east be very hazy, however, the views to the south and west were brilliant and you could see for miles. All of the large mountains in the area were clearly identifiable but a range of shear terrain straight infront of us was a bit of a puzzle. It wasn’t until we were some 20 miles away from them that all became clear, the range was not a range at all it was the south edge of Crater Lake.

Mt Thielson.

Howlock Mountain.

Just before reaching the lake we passed by Mt Thielson which has a 9,184 feet elevation, and Howlock Mountain which rises to 8,351ft. In the distance a layer of the sky began to get a brown tint to it, later we would hear that this was due to a large forest fire to the south of Medford.

Approaching Crater Lake.

As we flew nearer the recognisable features of the lake gradually came into view. Snow was still covering a lot of the rim and we remembered our visit there several years ago when we had had a snowball fight in July while wearing shorts and teeshirts! The dark blue of the water was not as striking on this visit due to the sun was still very low (although it was still impressive), we will have to fly there again on a cooler day when the sun is fully up. What was visible was the swirls of green algae that sit on the surface of the water, again not as much as on our last visit but noticeable still the same.

Approaching Crater Lake from the North, with the east rim to the left. The mountain behind is Mount McLoughlin which has a 9,495 feet elevation.

The west rim of the Crater.

The west rim of the Crater.

Closeup of the Crater west rim.

Wizard Island.

Looking south across the Crater into the early morning haze.

Reflection of the south rim with Mt McLoughlin in the background.

After taking all the pictures and video we required we turned to the southwest and started our 50 mile descent to Grants Pass, our next stop on the trip.

To be continued!