Sig Nordal

Have wanted to shoot Crater Lake in winter for a while now. Having never snowshowed before I was both intimidated and intrigued by the 5 mile hike that is involved in getting this shot. The trail is along the rim road which gets shut down in winter. There was about 10-12 feet of snow some of which was very soft and would have been impossible to walk on if not for my snowshoes. The first few yards were uncoordinated, but face planks on soft snow are not so bad 🙂 Within a short time though I became quite comfortable and could hike at a reasonable pace. The milky way could be seen faintly. The starstudded sky, the soft snow beneath my feet, the stillness of the night other than my breathing and the pristine beauty of the landscape was a true reward in itself. In order to get this shot a few very steep bluffs had to be negotiated and that little voice in my head kept telling me to not go too far on the overhang. Scrambling over this bluff, I was delighted to find icicles that I could include in my frame. I sat there for a long time soaking in the scene. As the first rays of sun came over the horizon the snow literally began to glow, the deep blue water of Crater Lake revealed. It was truly magical. No wonder they call it Wizard Island. :))