WEDNESDAY - Sometime overnight the winds shifted and started blowing all that smoke into our campground.
By the time we needed to leave at 11:30AM it was pretty much unhealthy to breathe outside. Not only was our reservation overwith, it was time for us to find somewhere else to be.
That somewhere else was 70-miles south of here on the other side of Bend, OR. When we reached the turnoff on US-97 for our next campsite the elevation was 4210'. We were still 16-miles from the campsite and it was all steeply uphill.
The first 10-miles was really steep and by the time we reached the Mountain Vista Pullout at 5833' (a gain of 1623') ROVER was getting a little hot under the hood. We pulled over for 10-minutes leaving the motor running to cool off.
We were still 6-miles from the campsite and I knew it was at 6383', so we still had another 550' to go up. Little did I know that 550' would be gain over the next 3-miles because the last 3-miles were either pretty much level or downhill.
Anyway, ROVER and THE POD made it to the campsite without another pitstop and it will be a lot easier on the engine on the way back down 2-days from now. I'm just glad I put new rear brake pads on ROVER last month.
TRAVEL DAY PHOTOS
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The smoke has definitely become thicker here at Haystack Reservoir.
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Compare this photo to the same one in the previous post.
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15-miles south of the campground the smoke is still thick along US-97.
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This is the Mountain Vista Pullout where ROVER took a 10-minute timeout.
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A little while later we had officially arrived at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
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This is part of the downhill section just before arriving at the campground.
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Time to make a left hand turn into the campground.
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We've got a site here with decent solar collection and Starlink connectivity.
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We've also got a decent view of the boat ramp and East Lake.
THURSDAY - This morning we first have to drive the 16-miles back down to US-97 and then travel another 13-miles north to the Lava Lands Visitor Center of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
While we are there I'll of course get my Passport Book stamped and then see about getting two $5 tickets for the Shuttle that will take us up to the Lava Butte Lookout on top of the nearby volcano.
LAVA LANDS VISITOR CENTER
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We arrived at the Lava Lands Visitor Center at 9:00AM when they opened.
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Inside they had a relief diorama of the National Monument, our campground is circled in red.
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Just north of the Visitor Center is the Lava Butte Volcano.
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Those are not "approved" hiking trails up the side of the volcano.
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That snow-capped peek over there is the 9068' stratovolcano called Mt. Bachelor.
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Time to climb the final 50' up to the fire lookout tower and talk with Ranger Mike.
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The critters all look well fed up here at over 5000'.
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To the west you can see just how far the lava flowed nearly 7000-years ago.
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There is a 1/4-mile trail around the rim of the crater we're going to hike.
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Those three peeks off in the distance are called The Three Susters.
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Due to the small parking lot the only access to the top is by taking the $5 Shuttle.
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The sign says it all.
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Looking down into the Lava Butte caldera.
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The fire tower is manned sunrise to sunset every day by one person on a 12-13 hour shift.
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From the Rim Trail we looked down upon US-97 some 500' below.
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Those are the "approved" hiking trails that begin at the Visitor Center.
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The trail comes to an abrupt end with 2 benches and an info-board.
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We made it full circle and now all we have to do it wait for the next shuttle.
FRIDAY - This morning we were off the campsite by 8:30AM because we have parking reservations from 9:00AM-11:00AM in the Lava River Cave parking lot about 25-miles west/northwest of here.
They have very limited parking there and there are only 5 oversized spaces that they reserve for RVers.
LAVA RIVER CAVE
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Lava River Cave is a 2.2-mile round trip, self-guided hike, in an underground lava tube.
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We've hiked in lava tubes before in Idaho and Hawaii, but nothing this long.
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There are 180-stairs to reach the bottom of the lava tube from the surface.
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Since this is a Down-And-Back route, it means you'll be doing the stairs twice.
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They rent high power flashlights for $7. We had our headlamps and cell phones, but just in case that wasn't enough to take decent photos with we rented one.
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Here I am shining our rented light on the ceiling of the tube some 30-40 feet overhead.
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Our headlamps were fine for illuminating the path directly in front of us so we didn't trip.
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This is the bulk of the 180 stairs. Look how large the cave is!
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There were some wet spots where the ground water had seeped through.
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This is what the cave floor looks like once you finally reach the bottom.
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Looking up you can see just how high the ceiling is.
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At this point of the route you are directly underneath the 4-lane US-97 Highway.
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The cave just keeps going and going like there will be no end.
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These large rocks fell from somewhere!
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The cave walls had striations from when rock-filled lava flowed through the cave.
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Both sides of the cave had these striations.
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That formation on the right is a "lava shelf" explained back in Photo #12.
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You can see the small "lava-cicles" on the underside of the shelf.
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At the halfway point of the route we turned around, it was just more of the same up ahead.
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On our way out we encountered people from the next session on their way in.
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Is that daylight I see up ahead?
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It most certainly is. Which means we are almost done with the tour.
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It is a chilly 42°F in the cave, no matter what the outside temperautre is.
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That sunlight and 75°F heat is going to feel good!
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The smoke has definitely become thicker here at Haystack Reservoir.
Compare this photo to the same one in the previous post.
15-miles south of the campground the smoke is still thick along US-97.
This is the Mountain Vista Pullout where ROVER took a 10-minute timeout.
A little while later we had officially arrived at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
This is part of the downhill section just before arriving at the campground.
Time to make a left hand turn into the campground.
We've got a site here with decent solar collection and Starlink connectivity.
We've also got a decent view of the boat ramp and East Lake.
We arrived at the Lava Lands Visitor Center at 9:00AM when they opened.
Inside they had a relief diorama of the National Monument, our campground is circled in red.
Just north of the Visitor Center is the Lava Butte Volcano.
Those are not "approved" hiking trails up the side of the volcano.
That snow-capped peek over there is the 9068' stratovolcano called Mt. Bachelor.
Time to climb the final 50' up to the fire lookout tower and talk with Ranger Mike.
The critters all look well fed up here at over 5000'.
To the west you can see just how far the lava flowed nearly 7000-years ago.
There is a 1/4-mile trail around the rim of the crater we're going to hike.
Those three peeks off in the distance are called The Three Susters.
Due to the small parking lot the only access to the top is by taking the $5 Shuttle.
The sign says it all.
Looking down into the Lava Butte caldera.
The fire tower is manned sunrise to sunset every day by one person on a 12-13 hour shift.
From the Rim Trail we looked down upon US-97 some 500' below.
Those are the "approved" hiking trails that begin at the Visitor Center.
The trail comes to an abrupt end with 2 benches and an info-board.
We made it full circle and now all we have to do it wait for the next shuttle.
Lava River Cave is a 2.2-mile round trip, self-guided hike, in an underground lava tube.
We've hiked in lava tubes before in Idaho and Hawaii, but nothing this long.
There are 180-stairs to reach the bottom of the lava tube from the surface.
Since this is a Down-And-Back route, it means you'll be doing the stairs twice.
They rent high power flashlights for $7. We had our headlamps and cell phones,
Here I am shining our rented light on the ceiling of the tube some 30-40 feet overhead.
Our headlamps were fine for illuminating the path directly in front of us so we didn't trip.
This is the bulk of the 180 stairs. Look how large the cave is!
There were some wet spots where the ground water had seeped through.
This is what the cave floor looks like once you finally reach the bottom.
Looking up you can see just how high the ceiling is.
At this point of the route you are directly underneath the 4-lane US-97 Highway.
The cave just keeps going and going like there will be no end.
These large rocks fell from somewhere!
The cave walls had striations from when rock-filled lava flowed through the cave.
Both sides of the cave had these striations.
That formation on the right is a "lava shelf" explained back in Photo #12.
You can see the small "lava-cicles" on the underside of the shelf.
At the halfway point of the route we turned around, it was just more of the same up ahead.
On our way out we encountered people from the next session on their way in.
Is that daylight I see up ahead?
It most certainly is. Which means we are almost done with the tour.
It is a chilly 42°F in the cave, no matter what the outside temperautre is.
That sunlight and 75°F heat is going to feel good!
