[pct-l] Crater Lake resupply

[Timothy Nye]

Everyone that was there when I was this year, myself included, stealth
camped at the Mazama campground area.  The restaurant by the store has a
great all you can eat buffet breakfast and showers and a laundry are
adjacent to the store. All of this is handy, but with that said the store
really is limited as far as I was concerned.

The good news is that the park now runs a great shuttle from the store up
to the post office which otherwise is inconvienantly located.and requires a
detour from the trail proper.  The shuttle is a motorized trolley affiar,
but has great sit pads available for it's otherwise uncomfortable seats.

One of the high points of my trip this year was taking a flyer at the
Crater Lake Lodge and seeing if they had a cancellation.  They did!  I
scored a great room overlooking the lake.  The view is so amazing that
while I was engaged in the prosaic act of washing my socks, that whenever I
looked up from the sink I'd be captivated by the amazing view of the lake
and just stare until I came to me senses and I could resume resume what I
was doing.  Giving the number of washings my socks required the amount of
time the chore took was roughly tripled.

Apparently hikers are few and far between at the lodge, if not in the
dining room, but at least at the lodge proper.  When I went to check out
the front desk clerk looked up my account then paused, and engaged in a
hurried whispered consultation with the other clerk.  Next thing I knew
they summoned their supervisor.  She, in turn, looked over the account.
Meanwhile a number of thoughts were running through my head. My card
expired?  My card carries the same name as a new international terrorist
and I'm on an FBI watch list?

The supervisor approached me looking abashed.   She cleared her throat to
announce, "I'm sorry, sir." She looked up and met my eyes: "There appear to
have been fraudulant purchases made on your account during your stay. These
meal purchases can't possibly have have all been made by you".

By the way, I strongly reccomend the artichoke crostini.