For Gena's Birthday weekend we got away to hike around Three Sisters in Oregon. The hike was long but had a very manageable elevation profile and many more mountain formations to view than the ONE other mountain loop hike we have done (Timberline Trail #600). In hiking this Three Sisters Loop, you can expect views of all three sisters (Faith, Hope, and Charity) as well as Little Brother, The Husband, The Wife, Jouse Rock, Kaleetan Butte, Devil's Hill, and Broken Top. From a distance you can see Mount Washington, Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, and even Mount Hood. If you have strength enough to make this hike in a few days, do it! If you have time enough to do it in a week, do it. This is a great hike for anyone able with as much to see per mile as Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls.
Day 1
Friday I had my last final exam for organizational behavior at 1pm in Portland so we got a late start. At 11am, gear all packed, I left it all in Tillamook to drive to Portland State University for my last exam of summer term. By 2pm I was finished and headed home, eager to hike a new area. Traffic home was either harsh, or my excitement made me sensitive.
Friday afternoons with the summer nearing an end on Highway 6 are a huge pain. Everyone and their brother is headed to the coast to do some sort of recreation and more than half of them are in RVs or pulling trailers full of motorcycles, quads, and trikes. Any of them lacking the power needed to pull the hill exhibit what I call RV Manners:
- If you are doing 30mph less than the posted speed, have over 12 cars behind you and won't pull over to let them pass, you have RV Manners.
- If you have to slow to 30mph less than the posted speed for the turns, but can hit 75mph in the straits to keep from being passed, you have RV Manners.
- If a tire on your trailer blows out and you would rather pull it to town on your rim than pull off to fix it, you have RV Manners.
- If you drive an RV or pull a trailer and think you have as much right to the road as anyone, you're right! But please have some manners and courtesy.
Driving from Sisters to Lava Camp Lake is a fairly narrow road winding through central Oregon forest and lava fields. Watch for RV Manners on the turns. Some of them seem not to know that they are in your lane! Lava Camp Lake Parking Lot is Red!! This sort of caught me off guard.
From there we found the sign to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) or as many signs in this area call it, the PCNST (Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail?). The sun was almost down. We hiked in a mile and a half by headlamp before finding a suitable campsite. We were half a mile north of North Matthieu Lake. We set camp fairly quickly to get some sleep after a long and weird day of driving, testing, driving, hurrying, driving, finding our starting point, and a short walk in the dark.
As we climbed into our sleeping bags for the night, we thought we heard wildlife outside out tent. Climbing out to look, there was nothing. Back to bed. There it is again… What was that? A rustling noise in the blackness. Outside again. Still nothing. No eyes staring back from the edge of the forest as I panned the area with my headlamp. Back to bed. Morning. No tracks around our camp. What was left of Jane's food was still on the ground. We never heard crunching or sniffing. We figured it was the wind which blew in from the north.
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| Lava Camp Lake Parking Lot by Flash |
Day 2
Day two would be our longest day ever for Gena, Jane and I. At first light we were striking camp and walking south on the PCT towards North Sister. North and South Matthieu Lakes were gorgeous and would make a great spot to camp if not for the fact that several other people already knew this. Fortunately, they were the sort of campers that were still sleeping as Gena and I were already a mile into our day.
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| N. Matthieu Lake |
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| N. Matthieu Lake |
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| S. Matthieu Lake |
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| S. Matthieu Lake |
The next few miles were desolate lava fields with occasional views of Hood, Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, and North Sister.
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| N. Sister |
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| View North |
Soon we were back into our mountain prairie that we love.
And occasionally back into pre-historic lava fields…
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| Jane in Boots |
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| Such cute little boots! |
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| N. Sister |
About 10am we were getting into the Obsidian Wilderness. Can you guess what gives this area its name? If you guessed "It's because the area is littered with Obsidian!" You Win!! At first there was a little creek where we started noticing shards of Obsidian. As we continued in, the glassy black rock became more and more dominate in the landscape.
The views from this area were among the most majestic. To hike this area as a day hike, you may look into Obsidian Trail #3528.
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| Hot Dog Cooling |
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| Obsidian Falls |
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| Obsidian Falls |
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| Obsidian Falls |
Leaving the Obsidian wilderness, we were back into scattered volcanic fields that had shifted from dark rock to light colored with patches of flora popping up through. The views down much of the west side of the Sisters included Faith, Hope, and Charity (North, Middle, and South Sister) as well as Little Brother and Husband.
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| N and Middle Sister |
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| Middle and S. Sister |
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| Husband |
At 4:30 in the afternoon we had gotten to Mesa Creek, our last likely source of water for another 6 miles. Mesa was a beautiful prairie with a creek running through it. When we got there some Horseback campers were letting their horses walk the field and play in the creek. Mesa Creek was crystal clear but it is worth noting with all the horses around, the area is ripe with Giardia lamblia, a nasty intestinal parasitic organism that can really ruin a hike. This area is so horse friendly that hikers around here seem to greet each other with "Don't forget to filter water!" as opposed to "Hello!" or "Howdy!" I generally consider my gut to be near bulletproof. Over a week later, showing all of the symptoms of giardiasis or "beaver fever," I am seeking aid. I will let you know!
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| Mesa Creek and Horse Play |
On the SW corner of South Sister, Charity, the forest opened up to a rolling plain with lava flows just north of the trail. Views opened up of another formation known as The Wife which we got to see as the sun was lowering to the west.
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| The Wife |
As we got to the east side of this little rolling plain, we came upon a group of scouts who had to be headed to the same Moraine Lake camp area that we had heard was fairly crowded. Fortunately the Scouts don't seem to be teaching P90X or Insanity for any of their coveted merit badges. Even after 22.6 miles through the long day's heat with 30+lbs still on our backs, we passed more than 12 scouts and their dads like they were standing still, nearly running up our final 1.4 mile, 600 ft climb to ensure ourselves a fair campsite. Take that Chub Scouts!
Near the top of this climb our views opened to views of South Sister and a new rock formation such as Mount Doom in Mordor. The eye is gone and we saw no signs of Orks, but this mountain, locally known as Broken Top, would haunt us for the first half of day 3. Really it was a fascinatingly beautiful monument.
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| DOOM! Aka. Broken Top |
At camp, we were dirty, but Gena still likes me when I am dirty.
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| Dirt = Sunscreen |
We were glad to be done for the day. We had started at 6am, 25.3 miles north from where we finally rested for the night. The wind had been from the North where it shuffled our camp the night before. This night, it was picking up as we were descending into Moraine Lake. It continued until about 2am and had to reach gusts of 35mph. Sleeping was hard even with half a dose of Benadryl and Jane, sick of getting beaten by the side of the tent, eventually climbed up between Gena and I. Some of the pictures below are intended to show PETA that Jane is no tortured pack animal.
Moraine Lake is also a wonderful area as long as you don't want a lot of green grass and pesky foliage around. There are about 18 camp sites around so way too many people, but if that's your cup of tea, have at it! The lake empties into a pretty little creek that is hand for dish washing.
Day 3
Starting day 3 was a work of beauty that I look forward to snow shoeing one day. Mount Doom.. I mean Broken Top watched over us as trail runners speeded passed us on their way to and from Green Lakes, one of the most majestic alpine lakes I have come across in my short few years of this hobby. Green lake had many campsites marked out also and they were positioned to mirror the South Sister in a beautiful fashion. There were even some rocks floating on the water so be careful if you are considering diving… I guess hitting your head on a pumice rock is different than hitting your head on granite, but you may consider being careful just the same.
We had a snack at this lake and loaded up on water to make it over our highest point of the climb at 7000 ft which we made it to by 1115am right about the 7 mile mark for the day. The views up to the point were worth every sore little piggy… that means toe. Views from the 7000 foot elevations again revealed Faith, Hope, Washington, Jefferson, Jack, and Hood. Oddly, I don't remember what the view to the south showed other than that looming Doom… Broken Top I mean!
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| Floating Rocks!! |
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| Mt Doom! I mean Broken Top |
From 7000ft we nearly jogged our way to Park Meadow at 6200ft. This meadow was breathtaking. The hills were alive with the sound of music!!! And the smell of horses and mules. Were I a sillier person, I would come here in a Bigfoot suit and sneak around the edges of the meadow when hikers are visiting from bend. After being sited, I would have to be able to disappear into the woods in a hurry… that just struck me as a fun idea.
Our toesies were burning from the downhill so we rested them in this super-cooled Park Creek. Resting our feet in this creek was like dipping them in a bucket of ice. Any swelling went way turbo-fast. We were multi-tasking by feeding the horseflies of our flesh! OUCH! More fake bug spray! See below.
Gena was getting tired and sore near the end of the day so she needed a song. Since it was her birthday, I sang her this little ditty:
Happy Birthday to you
T'morrow you'll get a brownie treat
But today you're still walking
So to hell with your feet!
We did get the brownie treat the following day, it was overly rich, and well deserved. Check out the deli at Ray's in Sisters, OR.
There wasn't a lot else to see for much of the day. Much of the east side of the sisters was cased in by pesky trees! Many of them were dead silver allowing the sun to bake the sand beneath. Jane started hopping from shadow to shadow so we started jogging to get down to Squaw Creek where we rested in tall, soft, green grass.
By this creek we met another scout troop; first two boys. One of them had long hair and we weren't really sure he was a boy! Jane seems to really not like guys with long hair. She growled at two males with long hair on the hike… found that interesting.
Eventually the scout leaders showed up; belly first. These poor guys were huge. How they had the muscle or will power to drag themselves around these mountains was a mystery. They were obviously dying but they pushed on. Since they were headed south and we were headed north we asked them about the water availability behind them to find what we suspected. They asked where we were coming from and were shocked to hear how far we made it so far this day. Then they asked what we hiked the previous day. The fatter one sat down at hearing our 25.3 mile day. He was happy to make 7 miles in a day. Turns out the Scouts aren't teaching P90X or Insanity! Hehehe... Chub Scouts... :^)
Here at Squaw Creek, we had about 7 miles to Alder Creek where we were going to camp. This would make for a 19.7 mile day.
Our last water on the way to Alder creek was soap creek, after which we would have another serious climb before rest so we kicked off the packs, elevated the feet, and changed socks again. When I went to put Jane's pack back on her, she turned away and laid back down. I gave her a few more minutes while I finished packing and tightening my laces. Then I gave her the order, loaded her up, and we moved out.
Along the way we found a cute little lizard and numerous squirrels. Jane chased off after one squirrel that outsmarted her by running up and around the backside of a tree. It then looked down on Jane and us as Jane looked around like a monkey doing a math problem; wondering where that magical little animal could have gone. Aside from that little burst of energy, Jane was fading. When we got to camp, she was done.
Day 4
The last day was a quick if dry and tired 7.4 mile hike back to the truck. Much of the trail was blown down and no one as made it in with a chain saw yet. This was the core workout I hadn't even been thinking of! I guess it was useful… climbing up and over all this junk after so many miles of packing. Huff… whatever: we made it to the truck, had a baby wipe wash-down, and headed to Ray's for some fresh food in the form of some really good salads augmented with some chicken strips… and Gena's desert which was so rich that we could only finish half.
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| Dog Tired |
New Gear Tested
We gave a second shot at boots for Jane to keep from wearing her paws out which has been a problem on many of our hikes. She takes about 5 minutes to get used to the boots, then I think she even starts to enjoy them. The problem is that they fall off after a while and I couldn't get them to stay on. We are looking for a new pair that work better for her and will also be trying some new preventive lotions designed to toughen paws leading up to hunting season. I will keep you updated on what I find. Jane's paws have paid for many of our hikes. Fortunately this trail was more mild than Hood on her delicate tootsies and she came out of it just fine this time.
This trail had a high bug populace that we fed as much of our blood as we could afford. The seemed to prefer me early in the day, but liked Gena better as the day progressed. Our bug spray was a natural stuff made with Lemon Eucalyptus instead of Deet or other chemicals. This stuff was great for about 15 minutes. We burned through the entire bottle on this trip and then ran out!! Thankfully we had a Bite MD Stick to help manage the pain and itchiness after the bite. We are waiting for signs of West Nile Virus… Get Deet! Take Enough!
Tillamook Smoker Jerky Strips make a great dog treat, have plenty of sodium, but are not as good as our favorite jerky, Werner's Honey Glazed. Sorry Tillamook Smoker! So everyone knows Werner's is Tillamook owned and operated also so we are still supporting our local economy! You have to try new things from time to time. If you go Tillamook Smoker, stick with their steak chunks. I seem to remember they were pretty good. I haven't compared them to Werner's Steak Chunks yet…
Dehydrated apples were new to this trip also. They were great to tear up and toss into the morning oatmeal. They were also great to just snack on.
Cliff Mojo Bars. Gena has traditionally hated energy bars as she feels she needs a gallon of water to eat one. These Mojo Bars are breaking that model. We very much like both flavors. They won't replace my P90X bars, but they are a great addition to the mix!
Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy—Delicious Gravy, dumplings are sort of like biscuits. The problem is that I pack an itsy bitsy pot and a stove that will not simmer. Result, huge mess and scorched pot that is very difficult to clean. We will be sticking with Oatmeal. We had a similar experience on our last Wahtum Lake hike with chicken and dumplings. Point: watch out for these two part meals that are more than just adding water. Clean up is harder than just closing the foil bag and stuffing it in your trash sack. Fortunately we saved the for our last morning meal so as to not ruin every other meal on the trip.
Lessons Learned
Water shoes were a must for the Mount Hood Hike as there were so many dangerous water crossings. That was not the case on this hike. We packed our water shoes based on the assumption that in looping around mountains we would have the same sorts of crossings to manage. This was simply not the case with Sisters. Still, at the end of the day it was nice to take our swollen poodies out of our boots and slip on some lighter poodie-wear.
Parts of the trip water sources were scarce. I generally carry a 20oz bottle and a couple 100oz bags. I only fill the bags if I think it will hard to get water by the end of my 20oz. Looking at the snowpack on the mountain above the marked creeks on my topo map gives me a good idea of whether of not I can trust that source. This takes practice but is a good way to keep from carrying unnecessary water weight.
Conclusion
In comparison to the Timberline Trail Hike, this one was easy. I should call Timberline Trail with the Elliot Washout and all the extreme elevation changes a triple black diamond. That would make this Sisters loop hike a Blue square except for the distance and water considerations.
That said, this is a great and beautiful slice of the Cascades that should not be missed by any hiker. Get in on it and hike this trail. Let me know how I can help. I won't carry you.
Links:
Our First Snowshoe
Seaside to Indian Beach Hike
Timberline Trail #600 Hike 2010
Eagle Creek: How to Poop in The Woods
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