2 weeks ago we went camping and kayaking on Waldo Lake in the Oregon Cascades. Waldo is a high mountain lake at 5400 ft and is about 5 1/2 miles long and 2 1/2 miles at it's widest point. A primary feature of the lake is the water clarity. It is claimed to have some of the clearest water of any lake in the world, second only to Lake Baikal in Russia (here, Wikipedia would insert [reference needed] ). While we were there a team from Oregon State University observed the clarity at 42 meters (138 feet). This is done by lowering a 1 meter diameter white disk on a line until you can't see it anymore. There are glaciers in the mountains near the lake but they do not provide water into the lake so there is no glacial till to cloud the water. I had to be careful up to about 30 feet in depth because if I looked over the side of my low-stability kayak I got dizzy and almost rolled it. It was like being suspended in air. In the center where the bottom is out of sight the sun makes the water a color of emerald that is so sensously beautiful it almost felt like a sin just to look at it.

To maintain the water quality the lake was closed to internal combustion engines a few years ago. Paddling, sailing and electric motors are still allowed. The Forest Service maintains about 200 camping sites in 3 areas around the lake. In the early morning while taking my dog for a walk I could hear voices coming from out on the lake. Some kayakers were out for an early paddle and were barely visible, most of a mile away, yet you could even follow the conversation. It is not many places we can get that kind of quiet in this day and age.

The Faith In Humanity part comes from what we did not see and hear. In 5 days of hiking and paddling I kept count of exactly how many pieces of trash (beer cans, gum wrappers, cigarette butts, etc.) we saw. The grand total was exactly 0. Unbelievable! The only graffiti was from someone named "Brandi" who used a Sharpie to immortalize herself on the wall of one of the pit toilets, complete with a little heart to dot the "i". Her parents must be so proud.

Since it was late in the year it got chilly at night and about half of the spaces were occupied by trailers, campers and motor homes. There are no power or water hook-ups. A number of Honda generators were seen along with those installed in the RV's. We heard some of them running once in a while but none early in the morning or in the evening. Only in the middle of the day to charge batteries.