Crater Lake Swimming in a Volcano

We're exploring Crater Lake today, a giant lake in a collapsed volcano crater in southern Oregon. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. It's 1,943 feet deep. Most scientists agree that this is the most pristine, clear, clean water in the entire world. The average surface temperature in August is around 59 degrees. And for those brave enough to jump in, they usually get out pretty quickly. It's about a 700-foot elevation loss down to the area where you can swim. 2.2-mile round-trip hike. Let's go check it out. Trail's in great shape. It actually requires regrading and maintenance every season, partially due to the fact that this area receives an average of 500 feet of snow every year. So with that tremendous amount of runoff, you can see how it's going to wash out this trail really quickly. Crater Lake is entirely snow and rain fed, which contribute to that pristine condition of the water. Something I'm a little confused about is if the water is the most pristine in the entire world, why they allow motorboats on the lake? Because, you know, those are going to have some sort of pollution, whether it's oil leak, gas leak, or just venting that exhaust into the water. It seems a little strange to me. So arrived in Crater Lake National Park last night, and actually about a week ago, they canceled our campground reservation because they're cutting down, I guess, some dead trees in the area. If you find yourself in that same situation about an hour north in Umpqua National Forest, there's plenty of first-come, first-served campsites available. So if you get stuck with them canceling your reservation on your trip, just know there's plenty of spots available. And even coming in from the west, there was a plenty of National Forest campgrounds about an hour and a half that direction as well. So at this water temperature, if you were to be stuck in this water, you'd have between one and three hours until unconsciousness and exhaustion set in, and between one and six hours before you died. So it's fun to jump in for a little swim, but don't want to spend too much time here. Those numbers vary based on your size, you know, your BMI, your metabolism, your genetics, your age. A lot of factors contributed to that. But at most six hours of survivability in water between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. So this water is actually warmer than the water we were in last week at Seven Falls in Plumas National Forest. That water was like an iceberg. This actually feels pretty refreshing. This pure snow melt, so pristine. But you're not allowed to bring snorkeling equipment, goggles, or dive gear, or wetsuits. They don't want to introduce any parasites or anything from outside water sources. So remember, this is almost 2,000 feet deep. So right at the edge, it drops off super steep. And you could swim down for a while. I'd love to see one of those free divers swim to the bottom of this. It's just pure blue. And you're going down for about a third of a mile. There's no way you can make it to the bottom. Well, that's it from Crater Lake here in Southern Oregon. If you like this video, you might like my video climbing Cerro Chato in Costa Rica, a volcano lagoon that we hiked through the jungle to get through. Check that out right here. In the meantime, get out there, find your adventure, and be infamous. Infamous.