South Sister Summit with a New Hiking Sister

Is there anything worse than waking up at 4:15 in the morning knowing you set your alarm for 3:30 - especially when you have a plane to catch? And who flies just 174 miles to only do a 13 mile hike anyway? Well I sure wouldn't, except Heidi asked me to. And I can't say no when it comes to hiking. Addicted. 

I am always looking for a fix

Heidi was at my door at 4 am, and tried everything she could think of to wake me from the dead. Though somehow we made our flight, even being off of our tight schedule; but let me tell you, I would not recommend cutting things close at the Sea Tac airport if you can help it!

No hiking required for an airplane mountain view

Raychel was ready at the Portland airport to whisk us away and get us to the South Sister Trailhead by early afternoon. She came into the picture because I'm too cheap to pay for a rental car, and we still had four hours of driving to go. And I know hiking addicts - if strangers invite you to go hiking because they have three people on the permit and need a ride - you ask for the days off and say hell yes, let's go!

Raychel getting her hiking fix. Haha, I guess this is how nurses filter water?

And that's why it's so easy to bond with folks in the hiking community...we all have the same malfunctioning brain. "You want me to climb 4,900 feet in just 5.5 miles to the top of a volcano? Sounds really painful...I'm in!"

But is there anything better than being with your people, suffering together, while also treasuring every minute of doing what you love best? Nope - and it makes up for all the rest. Even having an alarm set for 3:30 am that doesn't work. Happy "making the tight schedule work" trails! Itinerary below for those interested. 

Samquatch at the summit

TRAIL LOG:

Day 1: Trains, planes and automobiles later (we also took the Light Rail to get to Sea Tac from Northgate) we arrived at the Devil's Lake/South Sister parking lot at around 2 pm. Heidi's permit included two nights at the beautiful Moraine Lake, so thankfully we only had 3 miles to do this day. A ranger immediately asked to see our permit before we even got started, so don't try to cheat on this one. She was so nice though, and gave us the low down on the best sites to go for...the ones farthest from the water, of course. It may just be about a tenth of a mile down to the lake from sites #1-3, but it feels much longer when you are lugging up your water at the end of the day. But the ranger was right - the view from up there was worth it. 

Number 3 is the best

Day 2: Another early alarm, but thankfully this one worked. Morning coffee and day packs filled, we started heading up at 7 am because we knew this was going to be a challenging day. It was only about 4  miles to the summit, but once you start gaining, you gain hard. The final "Red Mile" is a beast, but at least you have great views. 

We took a lunch break at the false summit, where I'm guessing most people eat because the chipmunks there are not messing around. They expect a hand out, and if you refuse, they may just jump in your lap to get em'! 

Then one last push to the summit, and then what I thought was the best part, a loop around the crater. (We went CCW, which most recommend.) This is no stroll though, so be prepared for some rock scrambles.

At one point, the trail seems to disappear, but you just need to climb up a little to find the footpath again. I shudder to think if anyone thinks they could go down the scree and find their way back up to the trail - that would be really bad news.

Stay around the edge

After completing the loop, there's the daunting task of going all the way back down the way you came, which will feel endless. Heidi celebrated finally getting back to the lake by taking off all her clothes. Ha ha -- the bare butt/lake/mountain shot has been on her bucket list for awhile, so I was happy to be her photographer. She did curse a little at whomever had posted that this lake was warm...I guess water temp is quite subjective. 

Day 3: Just the 3 miles back out to the car, then the four hour drive back to the airport. We hiked fast enough to have some spare time to spend at the Mt Hood Brewery - my second time there in 5 weeks! With my friend Janet, and now Raychel both in Portland, I'm thinking a stop here needs to be a yearly tradition. I'm sure glad I have frequent flyer miles :)