SNOW IN SUMMER

CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK

9 June 2018

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In the midst of a blistering heatwave summer
we stumbled across
this permanently frozen world

a crater of snow melt
laced with ice, pine and mist . . .
foggy spirits abound
whirling whisps that curl against the branches
of the trees
and lay languidly on the surface of the water
till in one bright moment
a ray of light peeks through and
the mists retreat to reveal
the gleaming sapphire pool!

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This shining gem in the hills was born of violence and destruction! An eruption of a magma chamber underground quickly collapsed the foundation of the mountain that once stood here. In a matter of hours a mountain turned into a crater. Those who witnessed this eruptive event, 7700 years ago, spoke afterwards of a great battle of the forces above and the forces below. Slowly, over time, the crater was filled with water… 44 inches of snowfall a year melted, over hundreds of years, and blossomed into a lake. A lake with no inlets, streams, or tributaries. A lake of snowflakes turned crystalline, blue to the very depths.