South Sister, Oregon: 10,357ft.

[jessbee]

Wow do I miss hiking with you crazy folks on VFTT. No one wanted to join me for this one, an awesome hike with only 1.5 miles one way in the forest, the rest in the alpine zone...because of a 20% chance of rain and some steep slopes. Boo hoo. I didn't get rained on, but I did experience my first snowfall of the season.

Read all about it on my website.

Or take a shortcut to the pictures.

If you're ever in Oregon, put this one on your to-do list! The whole middle Cascades area is gorgeous just to drive through, too.

 

[sleeping bear]

Rain? Waaaaaaa!
I'd have gone with you! And I'm jealous about the snow. We've had frost here so far, can't wait for the white stuff!!

 

[alpinista]

That's some beautiful terrain out there, Jessbee _ and it's a shame everyone else wussed out and didn't join you. Glad to see you getting out in your new territory and exploring!

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Bad weather, good weather, and everything in between…a day spent on a mountain beats a day spent anywhere else.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[AntlerPeak]

If you're ever in Oregon, put this one on your to-do list! The whole middle Cascades area is gorgeous just to drive through, too.

Consider it added to my list. How far is it from Olympia? Is there a trail to the summit or is it a scramble? The reason I ask is because I saw a thread on northwest hikers net that the highest maintained official trail in WA is on Windy Peak at 8334 feet. I know WA is not OR but if this has a trail it surpasses Windy Peak by a whole bunch.

Nice pics btw.

 

[Peakbagr]

South Sister is a wonderful peak, 3th highest in Oregon. We did it on a picture perfect day.
If I remember correctly, the summit has the highest lake in Oregon.

There is a terrific spot to camp, with primitive sites, within sight of the entire route up the peak.

 

[jessbee]

Consider it added to my list. How far is it from Olympia? Is there a trail to the summit or is it a scramble?

South Sister is far from Olympia, a 6-hour drive I'd imagine. It took me almost 4.5 hours from Portland.

There is a trail to the summit, although it gets a bit obliterated on the scree near the top, the trail is easily picked up again along the crater rim. Check out this website for an accurate description of the trail. There's also a good cartoon map on there, it's all I needed on my hike. The topo map stayed in my pack.

Peakbagr, you're right...Teardrop Lake is the highest in the state, it's just below the summit. And I believe it's Moraine Lake that has the campsites that many folks use as a base before summiting the peak.

 

[giggy]

Nice report - I am stting here rather jealous. I think some of the folks out there traverse all 3 sisters in a day. I think one (north??) is rather tough. Everything is so much bigger, I can't imagine traversing more than one of them biggies in day. little different than bagging washington and monroe in a day!!!

anyway - could you see shasta? I think it might be about 100 miles south of the sisters - but I might be underestimating that.

could you hear the glaicier groaning?? - the first time I heard that sound, I thought is was rather creepy.

sounds like your making the transition rather fine.............

 

[AntlerPeak]

South Sister is far from Olympia, a 6-hour drive I'd imagine. It took me almost 4.5 hours from Portland.

There is a trail to the summit, although it gets a bit obliterated on the scree near the top, the trail is easily picked up again along the crater rim. Check out this website for an accurate description of the trail. There's also a good cartoon map on there, it's all I needed on my hike. The topo map stayed in my pack.

Peakbagr, you're right...Teardrop Lake is the highest in the state, it's just below the summit. And I believe it's Moraine Lake that has the campsites that many folks use as a base before summiting the peak.

Thanks for the info, I bookmarked your link. It looks like this will have to be an overnighter. I notice there is a campground nearby, something to do next August.

 

[ctsparrow]

Hey Jessbee.....i lived in Portland from '78 to '82, unfortunately i was too busy partying and getting 'happy' and hanging out in the rose garden and wasn't into hiking. Although i did ski my butt off on Mt Hood many winters. I loved the west and Portland as well as most of Oregon(that's Ore-uh-gun!!). I hope to return with my kids in tow to the west sometime soon....it's amazing country. So keep hiking and posting pics...it's a part of the state i never saw. Can you believe i left without going to crater lake....the stupidity of the young!! ctsparrow

 

[Mike P.]

Waahh,, I tried to time a business trip out west a few years ago & South Sister was going to be the hiking highlight, I even was reading the Bend, OR online paper. The trip fell thru & I did not go.

Thanks for shaing the pictures!

 

[jessbee]

Giggy, visibility was so bad because of all the rain and clouds around, I didn't see any of the big ones from the top of South Sister. As for North and Middle, those are beyond my gear and skill level so I couldn't imagine hitting them as well. That would definitely be a long day.

Too bad some of you missed out on hiking here....it's an endless outdoor playground. Going up the Barrett Spur on Mt. Hood and maybe a quickie in the Gorge this week.....