Work
will close Crater Lake trail: repairs will help keep pollution
away
Mail Tribune
Medford, Oregon
April 15, 1998
CRATER LAKE -- Visitors to the collapsed volcano that forms the
nation's deepest and clearest lake won't be able to visit the
water this summer because installation of a new fuel line will
block the only trail.
Crater Lake National Park is shutting down the trail that leads
800 feet down from the rim of the caldera to the water's edge
while it installs the new gasoline line for tour boats. Whether
work will be finished in time for tours to resume during the
busy tourist season is uncertain.
Park supervisors say the threat of pollution to the
crystal-clear lake water made this repair necessary. Continuing
to use the 30-year-old fuel storage tank on the rim of Crater
Lake and the exposed gasoline pipeline to the boat dock at
Cleetwood Cove presents an unacceptable risk.
Twenty-five thousand people a year ride the four 60-passenger
boats that carry people from Cleetwood Cove to Wizard Island and
offer a close-up look at Phantom Ship island and other volcanic
features.
"I
feel very sorry for visitors to the park this summer that there
will not be a regular boat schedule going on," said Dick
Gordon, general manager of Crater Lake Co., which runs the park
concessions. "A lot of people travel from thousands of miles
away. This may be their only trip ever to Crater Lake. They
won't have an opportunity to experience Crater Lake from down on
the water."
Crater Lake was formed after the Mount Mazama volcano collapsed
about 7,700 years ago. The waters are the clearest in the
country.
Work on the pipeline can't begin until snow plows reach the
trailhead, scheduled for July 1. Once work begins, it is
estimated to take two to four weeks to replace the 2,000-gallon
storage tank and bury the pipeline along the trail, said park
spokesman John Miele.
The cost is estimated at $350,000 and will be paid by the Park
Service.
While the pipeline is being buried, the 1.1-mile trail to
Cleetwood Cove will be closed to the public.
The 2,000-gallon storage tank must be replaced to meet the
December deadline for new Environmental Protection Agency
standards, Gordon said.
