August 12
Second annual Crater Lake marathon draws 206 runners for the three distance events. The winning time for the 26 mile run is 2 hours and 52 minutes and 18 seconds. A 63 year-old runner from Sacramento, California completes the marathon.
Rim Run Winners:
Men: 6.5 Dave Ellison Klamath Falls, Oregon 34.36
13.0 Dean Erhard Corvallis, Oregon 1:20.27
26.2 Jeff Barrie Portland, Oregon 2.53.18
Women: 6.5 Carol Kohlsheim Crater Lake, Oregon 59.25
13.0 Vicky Paddock Klamath Fall, Oregon 1.51.14
26.2 Susan Thomas Murdo, South Dakota 3:36.42
August 14
Stolen van located at Rim Village.
August 17
The Oregon State Health Department, with the assistance of the Fish and Game Commission, place Cosmic radiation detection devices (thermoluminecient dosimeters) on a nylon rope at 30 meter increments anchored near the Lake’s deepest point. A buoy, to aid in relocating the instruments, is placed 30 feet below the surface to allow for stretching and not to be a hazard to the Crater Lake launches. The Commission plans to leave the instruments in place for 5 years.
August 25
The Annie Spring flow drops to 0.4 cubic feet of water per second, or 200 gallons per minute. The lowest measurable flow on record. The lowest previous flow for Annie Spring occurred in 1968, when it measured 1.43 cubic feet per second. Park officials contemplate the drilling of wells to help augment the 85,000 gallons of water per day the Park consumes.
August 31
An unseasonably low snow pack allows the Scoria Cone snow plug to melt out sufficiently to allow entry into he cone’s volcanic vent for the first time. Ranger Pat Allender rappels approximately 150 feet into the Scoria Cone Cave without finding bottom.
Summer
Annie Spring reported to issue an average of 1,250,000 gallons per day. (410,000 per day during the low years.)
P.B.S. TV and filming crews spend time in the Park making a documentary film of the role of natural forest fires.
Car clouting in Mazama Campground. Six cars are entered with cash and jewelry taken.
The axle of the old Lincoln that had fallen down behind the Lodge years before is finally covered over from view by erosion and pumice dust. (Paul Herron)
September
Several exploration of Scoria Cone follows Allender’s initial exploration. Allender, Vic Affolter, and Phil Grant descends over 150 feet into the feet and discover the “Ranger Room” cave, measuring 50 feet across with a vertical relief of 40 feet. A 10 inch piece of wood with an apparent sawn end is retrieved and identified as Douglas Fir. The wood is badly degraded. This type of breakdown is caused by hot water and steam, so there is the exciting possibility that the wood may have been in the vent while the cone was still active. A further indication that the wood is old is the lack of any Douglas fir in the area around Scoria Cone today. Pat Allender retrieved the wood from the lowest chamber of the vent. The wood sample was given to Joy Mastrogiuseppe of Eastern Washington College in Pullman, Washington, in hopes of getting the wood carbon dated. Eventually dated at: 3900 years.
September 2
Rangers Sholly and Pat Allender rappel into Scoria Cone. The two men spend 8 hours investigating several long sloping vents. Many rooms are discovered with some measuring 50 feet long, by 20 feet wide and 20 feet high.
September 20
The first large scale exploration of the interior of Scoria Cone is conducted by Dan Mason, Dave Lange, John Davis, Chief Ranger Dan Sholly and Geology expert, Stan Mertzman. Sholly and Lange descend to a depth of 400 to 500 feet and explore two additional “chimneys” or conduits, 12 feet by 25 feet each with a vertical relief of 200 feet. During the arduous trek out, near midnight, the Chief is struck on the arm by a falling rock and because of his injured arm, Dan is forced to pull himself out using only one arm.
September 20
Mining is no longer allowed within any National Park areas except for those claims already approved.
October
Contract awarded for installing a new PBX phone system.
October 14
The old North Entrance employee cabin is burned as a fire training exercise. It used to house 4 seasonal rangers.
October
A sick ground squirrel found the North East corner of the park is found to have Sylvan plague.
Season Visitation: 617, 479, a new Park record. Still holding as of 1996
