This year we returned to the Three Sisters area for a backpacking trip over Fourth of July weekend. The past few years there has been progressively less snow, so we haven’t even thought about bringing skis. This year we heard reports of more snowpack, so we debated bringing the skis. After all, it’s a pain to hike through suncupped snow so the skis would certainly help with that. However, we opted not to bring the skis which turned out to be the right decision. There wasn’t much more snow than the last few years.
As we took off from Devil’s Lake trailhead, we started the climb through the big trees below the plains. It didn’t take us long to find the snow, but it took even less time for the mosquitoes to find us. In hindsight I probably should have worn pants from the start, but I prefer to hike in shorts. I got a few mosquitoes bites, but likely far less than I will get at the Waldo Trailwork in a couple weekends.
Outside of the bugs, the climb was pretty uneventful and soon we reached the plateau and began the traverse down to Moraine Lake. There was a little bit of snow on the lake, but the majority of the lake was completely free of snow or ice. After crossing the creek leaving Moraine Lake, we began climbing up a ridge leading toward South Sister. We like to camp fairly high on this ridge as it gives us easy access to Green Lakes and Broken Top, or South Sister summit. Plus, the ridge is a little breezy, so we don’t have to worry about bugs.
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| A big tree down in the first couple miles |
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| South Sister |
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| Mom on the traverse to Moraine Lake |
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| Moraine Lake with South Sister in the background |
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| Moraine Lake with ice and snow. Two days later there was no ice or snow on the lake. |
The climb up to our campsite is typically pretty slow since the ridge is pretty steep and loose. This year we had a little extra excitement as we got to see a helicopter rescue on South Sister. As we climbed, we got to watch the helicopter circle a few times before dropping behind a nearby ridge. I don’t think the helicopter set down the first time because a few minutes later it lifted off, circled again then disappeared behind the same ridge. This time the helicopter was out of sight for quite a while and we were unable to hear the engine so we figured it must have put down to make the rescue. It took quite a while, but eventually we saw the helicopter lift off and head toward Bend (the nearest town). It was pretty cool to see.
At this point we had reached the campsite, so we dropped our packs and had a quick snack before setting up the tent. After pitching the tent, we made dinner and headed in for an early night. We played a few games before heading to bed. It’s always easy to go to bed early when backpacking.
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| Mt. Bachelor behind the trees |
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| Broken Top |
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| Climbing up to the grey mound on South Sister |
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| Looking back down on Moraine Lake |
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| Mt. Bachelor |
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| Dad with Mt. Bachelor in the background |
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| South Sister |
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| Dad climbing up the ridge |
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| South Sister |
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| A little red bug |
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| Broken Top with a layer of clouds |
Friday morning we ate breakfast and packed up daypacks to head toward Broken Top. We descended down snowfields into Green Lakes which was fairly quick going. We were a little worried that the snow might be hard, but it was already getting soft when we started. The descent down to Green Lakes is pretty fun and I got a chance to do some glissading on the steeper pitches where the snow was still firm enough.
Upon reaching Green Lakes we filled up our bottles at one of the many springs around the lake and began contouring around the lake. Green Lakes still had a bit of snow on them, but there was also a lot of open water too. We made our way around Green Lakes and soon found the climber’s trail that leads up to Broken Top.
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| Friday morning |
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| A butterfly moth on the snow |
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| Beginning the descent down to Green Lakes - a little uphill section here to set up a glissade |
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| Broken Top |
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| One of the many springs around Green Lakes |
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| Green Lakes with Mt. Bachelor in the background |
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| A couple paintbrush |
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| Traversing around Green Lakes |
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| Looking back toward South Sister |
The first part of the trail climbs through the trees where there were patches of snow and lots of mosquitoes. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to get out of the trees and into a bit more snow where there were fewer mosquitoes. The snow was getting pretty soft and had lots of suncups so the going was a little slow as we were slipping around quite a bit.
After slipping through suncups for a while, we got onto some dusty loose terrain leading up to the ridge. This section is pretty short and soon we were on the ridge leading to Broken Top. The ridge is rocky, so we found a spot with some good sitting rocks and took a quick break. We had a snack, drank some water, and took in the views of the Three Sister and the surrounding terrain.
Now atop the ridge, we continued the climb up Broken Top. The ridge is pretty steep but has relatively stable footing so it’s really not so bad. I thought that we made pretty good time on the climb and soon we reached the crux, just a couple hundred feet below the top. The crux is a short pitch that you have to climb up. The actual climbing is pretty easy, but if you goof up, it wouldn’t be good. Dad, Jacob, and I decided to climb the crux and reach the summit while Mom waited for a short while for us to return.
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| Climbing up through the trees toward Broken Top |
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| Mom and Jacob below Broken Top |
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| Looking up at Broken Top |
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| Mom and Dad making the climb to the ridge |
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| White Flowers |
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| Dad with Middle Sister and North Sister in the background |
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| South Sister poking out over the ridge |
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| Dad climbing up toward Broken Top with Mom, Jacob, and the Three Sisters in the background |
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| Mom and Jacob |
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| Mt. Bachelor from the top of Broken Top |
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| Jacob on top of Broken Top |
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| Dad and Jacob on top |
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| Little ladybugs on top of Broken Top |
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| Dad on top of Broken Top |
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| Dad and Jacob beginning the descent |
After tagging the top and taking a few quick pictures we began the descent back down the ridge. Going down was a lot faster than going up and soon we were back at the saddle in the ridge. This year we opted to continue along the ridge instead of following the climber’s trail back to Green Lakes. A couple years ago we had hiked this ridge to the high point but had not descended down to the saddle, so we were not sure if we’d be able to do this section. Fortunately, the terrain was not as rough as it appeared and there was even a slight trail for most of the way. We quickly reached the high point on the ridge and soon were making our way down gentle slopes.
We followed the ridge until we reached the main trail leading into Green Lakes and then followed the trail down to the lakes. Upon reaching the lakes we traversed around the lakes back to the spring where we filled up in the morning. Again, we filled our bottles and then set out for the final climb back to the tent. This last uphill is almost all on snow, but always seems to be a bit faster than we expect. We made pretty good time up the snowfield although Dad was getting a little bit tired at the top. After leaving the snow it was just a short walk to the tent.
I think it was close to 7 when we got back to the tent, so we started making dinner immediately. This evening was pretty windy, so we had to hunker down behind some trees to get the stove going. After a quick dinner we headed into the tent, played a few games, then went to bed.
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| Dad, Mom, and Jacob on the ridge below |
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| Dad beating the heat |
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| Middle and North Sister |
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| Mom with South Sister in the background |
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| Mom and Dad |
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| Green Lakes |
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| A couple paintbrush. There weren't many this trip. |
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| North Sister |
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| A weird collection of pine needles on the snow |
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| Looking across Green Lakes |
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| Mom traversing around Green Lakes |
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| Broken Top |
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| The snowfield leading back to the tent |
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| Tumalo Mountain |
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| An Injinji sock tree |
Saturday was our last day on the mountain so in the morning we packed up the tent and headed toward South Sister. We had to traverse a couple small snowfields and then climb a little bit before we reached the main South Sister trail. Upon reaching the trail, we dropped our packs in exchange for small daypacks with a little water and food, plus some warm clothes for the top.
After dropping the packs, hiking seemed pretty easy, so we quickly reached Mirage Lake about 1 mile below South Sister. From the lake it’s an uphill grind to the top. The first half of the climb isn’t too bad, but the second half is much looser so there a lot of sliding back when you’re trying to move forward. Fortunately, the snow had just melted, and this section was much less loose than usual due to the extra moisture in the soil. I though we made pretty good time in this section and soon we reached the rim of South Sister. Upon reaching the rim, there’s just a short level walk to the far side where the true summit is.
We hiked over to the true summit but didn’t stay long because the wind was really picking up on top. We had planned to eat a snack on top, but no one was too hungry, and the wind was blowing pretty hard, so we headed down. We then planned to take a break at Mirage Lake to eat, but we were moving so quickly downhill that we decided to just continue to the packs before we stopped to eat.
After a brief snack at the packs we headed down the mountain, this time loaded up with all our gear. The descent down to the plains was mostly on snow which actually made the downhill pretty fast. The snow was getting really heavy, so we were able to tromp straight down the snowfields on the descent. I had hoped the snow would be a bit harder, so I’d be able to glissade the steep pitches, but that wasn’t the case.
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| Broken Top |
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| Looking down on Broken Top from South Sister |
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| Middle Sister and North Sister |
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| Looking back up at South Sister |
Soon enough we reached the flat section and left the snow behind us. It was quick walking along the flat and it didn’t take us long to reach the junction to Moraine Lake. We all took a big drink of water here since none of us wanted to be stopping in the last couple miles because of the mosquitoes.
The last downhill was pretty fast, and I was surprised how much snow had melted since we came in two days earlier. There was significantly less snow than coming up. We didn’t have too many mosquitoes to deal with and soon we were at the car packing our gear into the trunk. I thought this was one of the coolest trips we've done over Fourth of July since we covered a little bit more terrain than usual. Plus, this was probably the best weather we’ve had too. It was sunny every day but never got too hot.
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| Mt. Bachelor |
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| Broken Top and Moraine Lake |
