By Steve Bergsman

I was driving from Portland to Crater Lake National Park in central Oregon with some added passengers. Besides my wife and me, joining the breakaway vacation were my sister and two cousins — none of them young, none of them used to being in the wilds and not all of them in great physical condition

On the other hand, my wife and I were used to long hikes, national parks and somewhat strenuous outdoor activities. So somewhere we knew we had to compromise.

Crater Lake is one of the most unusual and beautiful parks in the whole national park system. Located in a remote area of Oregon, the hallmark of the park is the remaining caldera of an ancient volcano that over eons has filled with water, creating a lake of still, deep blue waters. The only obstruction is one land rise to the west side of the lake called Wizard Island.

There are a couple of ways to experience the park. My wife, taking into consideration our guests, wanted to circumnavigate the lake, which one can do as a 33-mile scenic roadway circles the crater. However, we had driven into the park from the North Entrance Road and immediately hit a number of overlooks on a drive that eventually took us to the Rim Village. I could see that as scenic as the overlooks were, we would just be viewing the lake over and over again at different points along the route. I didn't think we could experience the overall park that way.

Crater Lake sits on almost 300,000 square miles of mountainous, forested land with numerous creeks and peaks, waterfalls and footfalls and waterways and trailways. I thought it would be more interesting to get on the land and do some walkabouts, and that's the good thing about Crater Lake. There are strenuous hikes, but there are also many short trails for older, not necessarily physically fit people who would still like to commune with nature.

Our first hike was on the Godfrey Glen trail, which is mostly a level path through old-growth forest of Shasta red fir and mountain hemlock. The glen refers to a summer meadow where the Munson Creek meets up with Annie Creek. The highlight of the 1.1-mile-loop trail is the walk along the rim of a deep canyon. Cousins and sister successfully handled this walk in the woods. We then moved on to Annie Creek, which is listed as moderately strenuous, and this scared my relations. My wife and I decided we would take this one on as sister and cousins relaxed at Mazama Village, where there were was a store, restaurant and best of all, rocking chairs for relaxation.

They missed one of the best short hikes in a national park. The route is less than two miles, but it has greatness. It begins with a steep descent, then meanders alongside the beautiful Annie Creek, including a couple of crisscrosses, and then concludes with a steep ascent. As the guidebook says, "lots of water, wildflowers and sometimes wildlife." We saw no wildlife; all was just serene nature.

After lunch I decided the group could use one more very short hike, the Castle Crest Trail, which began at the park visitors center. Although it was less than a mile long, it seems I was too ambitious. This is an easy trail, but it skirts around a "wet meadow" and it is a bit rocky and often wet as spring water skips over the rocks, which can make things slippery. My sister and one cousin decided to not do this part of the hike.

Perhaps the most distressing effect of this one-too-many hikes is that the next day when we drove north to Sunriver, where we were scheduled to visit the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, my sister and one cousin decided they would detach from the group and just hang out in the picturesque Village of Sunriver center. So the rest of us headed into the Newberry.

Although called a "monument," this is an extensive park with many unusual highlights. We opted to do Lava Butte, the remains of a volcano that abruptly rise 500 feet above nine square miles of lava flow. A jitney takes you to the top. The highlight is a quarter-mile walk around the caldera.

Not quite satiated, on the way out of the park we stopped at Benham East Trailhead for the short hike to Benham Falls. The easy trail crosses over the Deschutes River. As you stand on the wooden bridge and look down the water moves calmly and the flow is moderate at best. All is serenity, but not for long. As you make your way along the river the elevation dips and the waters become turbulent until you get to the falls, where the white water makes a sharp turn, cutting a narrow gateway between rocky cliffs. If you're into whitewater sports, this is Level 5 stuff.

The next day, my wife and I left my relatives to relax and recover. We were staying at the sumptuous Pronghorn Resort outside of Bend and intended to go back to Newberry to walk the famed Lava Cave, but one of the staff members told me that when they were dynamiting some of the land to build out the Tom Fazio golf course, they discovered the entrances to two lava caves, which they left in place. So donning our headlamps, my wife and I skipped the Newberry Lava Cave, which attracts hundreds of visitors daily, to explore the Pronghorn's lava caves. They were not extensive, but we were the only ones there.

We did go back the Deschutes River later that same day, this time opting to do the whitewater rafting. Just outside of lovely Bend, we slipped into a Sun Country Tour river raft with two other couples and a guide. Once again, the Upper Deschutes River seemed peaceful and serene. Then we hit the Big Eddy, Level 3 rapids that we negotiated surprisingly well, although we were drenched from the effort.

We were we exhilarated — although maybe not as much as my relations who opted to go antique shopping in Redmond and scored some great purchases. We each got our thrills in our own way.

WHEN YOU GO

We flew from Phoenix to Portland and then drove Interstate 5 south. As our first stop was Crater Lake National Park, we exited I-5, going east on State Road 138. After two days at Crater Lake, we drove State Road 97 north to Bend.

There's a beautiful classic lodge on the grounds of Crater Lake National Park with just a limited number of rooms. We stayed outside the park at the comfy but basic Diamond Lake Resort: www.diamondlake.net. Outside of Bend, we shifted gears, staying at the beautiful, upscale Pronghorn Resort, which has two golf courses: www.pronghorn.aubergeresorts.com

For whitewater rafting we floated with Sun Country Tours in Bend: www.suncountrytours.com.

A hiker enjoys the Annie Creek Trail in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. Photo courtesy of Steve Bergsman.

An old juniper tree exhibits its stark beauty in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. Photo courtesy of Steve Bergsman.

Steve Bergsman is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.