Hiking the South Sister - July '09

The South Sister is the 3rd tallest mountain in Oregon, and yet is totally hikable without any gear. Its about an 10 mile round trip from the trailhead, but the last 1/2 mile to the summit takes about an hour...real steep and loose cinders make for slow going. Mid July I set out with a bunch of scouts to get to the top.


The view is unbelievable -you can see about half the state from the summit; on prior hikes I'd been able to pick out Mt. Rainier to the north, and Mt. Shasta to the south.


Like other times up this mountain, I was reminded that:

1) its really easy to underestimate how much water to bring on something like this

2) really steep downhill is just as bad as steep uphill

3) getting to the top makes it all worth it

Mindblowing snowy peaks and deep blue glacial lakes are impressive, but expected. What's totally unexpected on a hike like this is...butterflies. They are everywhere, especially at the summit. I can't imagine what they doing up at >10,000 feet, but its like being in a windstorm in autumn with the leaves blowing all around you. I tried to get a little video