South Sister Hike

July 27, 2009

Scott is going to climb Mt. Shasta next week with the Young Men in our church. Due to our Sunriver trip, he missed out on the training hike with everyone else. So he planned on hiking South Sister which is near Sunriver. South Sister is the tallest of the three Sister volcanoes in the Sister's Wilderness. It stands at 10, 358 ft. in elevation and is a 12.4 roundtrip hike. It is the third highest mountain with the largest glacier and highest lake in Oregon.

I enjoy hiking so I told him I would go with him and the girls could watch the boys while we were gone. We were told you could do it in a day and Scott had also heard it took only about 6 hours. We were also able to recruit some friends, Chris and Lisa Bottomly, who just happened to be in Sunriver the same weekend. The plan was to leave early, beat the heat and be back shortly after the kids all woke up and then take them all to the pool. Well, that was a good plan but not quite how it all went down!

We started the hike about 6:45 a.m. from Devil's Lake along with 7 million mosquitos. The first part of the hike was wooded with a little stream and would had been completely enjoyable if any of us had remembered to pack bug spray!

The first few miles were tiring but nothing compared to what awaited us. You can tell by our smiles here that we were totally clueless as to what was to come!

This is the view of the summit about 2 miles into the hike. We didn't appreciate how steep it really was until we saw this view on our way back down. This was the easiest part of the hike. It was open tableland with great views of neighboring mountains and lakes.

Moraine Lake

Scott crossing one of the many glaciers on our way to the top.

The end of the tablelands and smiles!

The next section of the hike got considerably harder. It became very steep with lots of loose rocks and boulders. At the top of this rocky section is a false summit. We were so disappointed when we reached it just to learn from an experienced hiker that there was more and the hardest part was yet to come.

This is Lewis Lake which is formed by the run-off from Lewis Glacier.

The last part of the hike was the steepest and most difficult. The trail is nothing but deep scree which is similar to walking in sand. The best advice we got from other hikers was to take very small steps and rest often. If you tried to take big steps you just slid back down in the scree and didn't make much progress. We found we could only take about 15 steps before we had to rest and catch our breath. In addition to the scree we were dealing with thin air with the altitude change.

After 6 hours we finally made it to the summit! What an accomplishment! Especially for me. There was one moment when I really wasn't sure I could physically make it. I was so proud of myself when I made it to the top. Scott is training for Hood to Coast and our friends are training for several triathalons, then there was me who has only exercised a handful of times in the last year and a half! I told Scott that was the by far the hardest thing I have ever done before. And that was before I knew how hard the descent would be on me!

Scott and me standing just above the crater in the summit. That is Tear Drop Lake behind us. This is the highest lake in Oregon and is frozen all year except for the summer months.

Scott enjoying the view of Middle and North Sister from the summit.

Chris and Lisa Bottomly, Scott and Heidi Rushing

We made it to the summit!

At the summit looking down the side of the mountain we climbed. At this point I am trying to decide if I feel more relief from making it or more fear for going back down!

After enjoying the view from the summit, we crossed the crater walking over the glacier rather than walking the perimeter like we did upon reaching the summit. It was a shorter route but more difficult with the slippery snow and uneven terrain.

After spending about one hour walking the perimeter of the summit and enjoying the view we headed back down. It took us about 4 hours to descend. Going down wasn't as physically challenging but probably more painful for me. With such steep inclines my knees about quit on me completely. We didn't have to stop so frequently to catch our breath but had to stop often to empty the scree out of our shoes. This is me giving my knees a rest on the way down.