Vicki and I took a short dayhike on the Little Crater Trail, a loop that follows the rim of an older cinder cone within the heart of the Newberry Caldera.
After hiking on the Big Obsidian Flow Trail, we headed north along the road to the East Lake Campground. It wasn’t open for camping yet (like most of the park in early June) but the boat ramp parking lot was available, so we decided to take a walk on the beach. It was a fine day, and we took a short break there. What else was there to do today? We checked out the map and decided to drive to the end of the road, then head back toward our camp on Paulina Lake and hike on the Little Crater Trail.
Video of us driving up to the crater’s rim on Newberry Crater Road
After reaching the end of the park, we turned back toward Paulina Lake. Paulina Peak, at 7984 feet elevation, was directly in front of us and dominated the entire caldera. That was the place for views! I was excited to get up there, but I would wait. I was also glad that Vicki was willing to try it at all, as it was quite a climb.
We parked at the Little Crater Trailhead near Paulina Lake. I put on my trusty daypack, and away we went. The trail was a loop around the rim of the old crater, which was heavily forested. It climbed about 400 feet and was two miles long, so not too strenuous. Even though the crater itself was largely obscured by trees, there were several excellent lookout spots along the rim. The first one looked out over Paulina Lake and Paulina Peak. We knew that our campsite was directly downhill from us, but bushwhacking down the steep slope didn’t seem like a great idea.
As we headed around to the eastern side of the loop, the Big Obsidian Flow came into view. It was much, much larger than you might expect, having begun its flow from high up on the eastern rim of the main Newberry Caldera. I was able to zoom in using my big DSLR camera and see the concrete stairs we had climbed earlier that morning. The obsidian trail barely covered any of the vast surface of the lava flow.
After that, the views disappeared as we entered the pine forest once again. The trail continued downhill toward the trailhead parking lot, which made Vicki happy, except for one pesky section when it climbed. Sad but true. We lamented the lack of consideration that these “Little Craters” had for hikers. What were they thinking, leaving a jagged rim behind after blowing cinders every which way? We resolved to write the national forest a Sternly Worded Letter addressing this flaw in their geography.
After that, we were done with hiking for the day. We drove back to our trusty campsite and walked down to the lakeshore. I found a piece of pumice that felt light in my hand. It was white-colored, which we had learned was full of small bubbles. Would it float? That was the important question. It was time for an experiment.
Video of Vicki tossing a piece of pumice into Paulina Lake to see if it would float – it did!
We took life easy after that. And why shouldn’t we? We were on vacation, after all. After reading my Kindle while sitting on a log by the shore, I eventually headed to the car to set up the sleeping area. Vicki cooked up one of our simple meals, and we ate it as the sun lowered in the west. All in all, it had been a fun and interesting day in the park.
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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