Since it would be a sunny day I decided to go to Clear Lake. I knew that I would be arriving in Oregon too late to take advantage of the vine maple in the lava fields on the east shore of the lake, so I hadn’t been planning to do this hike. But it seemed to be the best sunny day option I had.

Although I was right about that vine maple being way past peak, there was still plenty of other color, and of course the lake itself provides wonderful, and possibly unbelievable, color.

The one spot that was a disappointment was the Great Spring. It was in the shade and the vivid color just wasn’t there. I had seen it in all its glory when I was there before. It’s still interesting though. I could spot a few small places where water must be welling up, but they’re pretty small. The pool looks reasonably placid, although you can see that there is some movement. But when you get to the outlet the water is rushing pretty fast and loud. It’s surprising that so much water is emerging without it being more apparent. I shouldn’t be surprised though since Tamolitch does the same thing.

Tomorrow’s forecast is mostly sunny. I’ll probably check out a few places I haven’t been to before. They’re creek hikes, so the conditions won’t be optimal for photography. Luckily there are showers in the forecast after tomorrow, so that will work nicely for the rest of my plans.