Loop around the Three Sisters

Well it was Tuesday, but this Tuesday was so much better than last Tuesday because on this Tuesday there was finally no school! It had been a long and tiring school year. My students definitely tested me, but I came out okay and enjoyed teaching them. It took me a while to warm up to some of the other teachers, but Jacqueline and I had formed some friendships with other staff members by the end of the year. Mainly it was the driving the children back and forth from day care every day and the many dark and rainy days that had accumulated. To this point, I had spent my life mainly being a wilderness ranger at Zion so getting out and about was a necessity, not a privilege.

It now became a privilege in my life so as soon as school was done, I was going to go after the first backpacking trip that I had been dying to do which was the hike around the Three Sisters. I talked to the person at the Ranger Station and they told me that there was still a possibility of some snow on the route, but given that it had been such a dry year as far as snowfall accumulation, I would probably be okay. The great part about this trip was that it was a loop hike. It might be a long loop hike, but it was still a loop so figuring out a car shuttle was not necessary. It started with a drive up the road to McKenzie Pass which had just reopened after being closed for the winter.

I parked at the Lava Camp Lake Trailhead and then I was off on my way. It felt so natural to have a heavy backpack on my back and moving up the trail. The first interesting feature that I encountered was the Matthieu Lakes. There was a north one and a south one and both of them I arrived to after hiking through an alpine forest that was right on the edge of a massive lava flow. The lakes looked awesome and it seemed like a great place to hike with the kids in the summer time. Right after the South Matthieu Lake, the trail split at Scott Pass. I took the eastern route to the left that put me on Scott Pass Trail. This trail descended pretty quickly and soon I was hiking in the burned area.

This had supposedly burned a few years back. Because of the burn, the view was actually okay and I had views of the North Sister which of the three was by far the least scenic. After a couple of miles, I took the Green Lakes Trail which was just a long trek through a burned out area. It was rather warm, so I was drinking lots of water. I was happy when I finally found a stream to filter some water. Eventually I made it to the junction with the Pole Creek trail which lead me to another junction with the Camp Lake Trail. I looked at Camp Lake on the map and it sure looked like it was in a great spot with the North and Middle Sister right beside you.

 I saw one of my only other groups on this day hiking with telemarking skis up to Camp Lake. I did not have time for the hike to Camp Lake on this day, so I continued on my trail toward Park Meadow. I did not actually make it all the way to Park Meadow, but it was getting to be around dinner time, so I found a nice spot to camp right near a small stream. I found a flat spot away from the stream to put my tent down and I was luckily out of the burned area that I had been hiking in all day. With that, though, came the mosquitoes and they were out, but not nearly as bad as I guess that they can be this time of year.

I got the tent up, made dinner, and still had quite a bit of time and daylight on my hands given that it was the middle of June. So I got a good few hours in of just reading my book which was on the relationships between former U.S. Presidents. I got a significant amount of sleep and then I was ready to go early in the morning. I was moving before 7 AM and quickly made my way to the junction at Park Meadows. I saw one other tent camping there, but after this the trail began to climb and I was really getting my share of the views. Yesterday it was mainly the North Sister and Mt. Washington. Today, I got to see new mountains like Broken Top that were still covered in early season snow.

 The views of the Middle and South Sisters were starting to open up also and the trail quickly got me to a junction. There was no marking, but I knew that the trail went over to Golden Lake. I decided to take it since it was not very much out of my way. It was well worth it because the view from Golden Lake with Broken Top in the background was amazing. I was really enjoying these sub-alpine meadows that were now everywhere in this non burned area. I decided to make my way back to the trail by just cutting over and though it took some effort, it saved me some time and I was back on the Green Lakes Trail.

This is where I encountered snow and while it was not deep, it did make the trail hard to find in some places, so I really had to keep my eyes open which was unfortunate because the views of this side of the South Sister were fantastic. At this elevation I could see all of them and I took way too many pictures of all of the area. The hike was already worth my time to just be here. After I peaked out on the pass I was hiking to, I could see down to what was finally the Green Lakes that was the name of the trail that I was hiking on. I could see why you would name a trail many miles away after these lakes.

They looked amazing and with views toward Mt. Bachelor it looked like this pristine spot. The Green Lakes did have this amazing green coloring to them with green grass surrounding them in a sea of volcanic rock. I was amazed that there were no other people camping here and I felt like I had the place to myself given that it was only 9 AM. I filled up on water and enjoyed it until I got to the far end of the smallest lake which was where I started seeing the people. Until now, I had been nearly by myself. Hiking down from the Green Lakes along this ideal stream next to a glacial moraine was amazing but it was made a bit less exciting by the fact that it seemed like everyone was hiking up to the lakes.

I had a tough time having more than a minute or two before the next group was coming. When I looked at the map, I could see that I was only about 4 miles from a trailhead coming in from the Bend area. It turned out that this was one of the most popular trails in the Three Sisters area. I was happy to find the junction for Moraine Lake which to me was one of the highlights of the trip. As I found a place to sit and have some lunch, I had the place nearly to myself. I already felt like the burden of the school year had been lifted off of my back and I was in this entirely different environment with an entirely different me.

I was only halfway done with my trek, though, and I needed to continue on. I passed the South Sister Climber Trail that I had taken many years ago and then it seemed like everything got weird. The trail descended rapidly and it felt like I was going the wrong direction for a long time. The map said only 1.5 miles, but I was losing so much elevation and just second guessing myself considering the many ways that I could go wrong on this network of trails south of the South Sister. When I finally hit the LeConte Crater Trail, I was relieved, though this trail was such a different world from where I had woken up in the morning.

It was this nearly barren landscape of low shrubby grass and it was hot also. I felt the burden of the pack in the heat as I hiked this trail to eventually meet the PCT. It made sense to me that this was the section that was the most volcanically active given the significant lack of moisture and vegetation. As I climbed toward the PCT, soon that landscape melted away and I was back to the meadows and greenery surrounding me. It was peaceful to watch the deer running through the meadow or to cross a small cut log over a meandering meadow stream. The trail climbed pretty rapidly from this point and soon I found myself back in the thick forest.

After the next junction, I felt like I had put in enough miles, so I found myself a nice spot to camp by a small pond without a significant amount of mosquitoes in the late afternoon. It had been a full day of hiking and I estimated I had done another 17 or so with a full backpack on. That meant an easy dinner and a few hours of daylight to continue enjoying some alone time reading my book and resting up for the next day. I was up plenty early again and was moving once again before 7 AM. I would spend all day on the PCT and my views were just dominated by the South and the Middle Sister.

I began my day right on the flanks of the South Sister, but was quickly moving toward the Middle sister through a series of forested areas transitioning to beautiful meadows. They seemed never ending on this day and soon I was hiking into the areas that were enjoyed by not just hikers, but mosquitoes also. They were the worst across from Separation Creek Meadows and I felt bad for the tents of people I saw camping here. I talked to a few other hikers and backpackers on the trail and they seemed particularly bothered by the mosquitoes.

It was not too bad for me as long as I kept moving. I could spend hours talking about the amazing trail and the amazing views I saw, but it was truly endlessly enjoyable to hike this section. The elevation did not change much and the mountain views were spectacular. I was impressed by a mountain I did not even know much about which was the Husband. I had camped near the Wife yesterday and soon I would be passing by Little Brother also. It was a whole family of mountains. The terrain was becoming a bit more volcanic and the meadows were melting away, but I began to notice pieces of Obsidian on the ground.

 I knew I was coming upon the Obsidian area. It was amazing. Obsidian was everywhere. Usually you are excited when you find one or two pieces. Here it was in all the rocks, scattered everywhere with huge outcrops of obsidian. There was even this amazing waterfall pouring down from the cliffs above. The scene eventually led to this large plateau with small lakes scattered amongst the piles of shiny black rock. Then I come around another corner and here is this breathtaking view of the area between the North Sister and the Middle Sister.

The obsidian area required a special permit, but the view from the PCT was remarkable in itself. I could see why this was a special protected area. The trail dropped pretty rapidly through forested area after this point and eventually it found its way to the most volcanic area of the whole hike. Here you could tell that this area was once a lava flow as every step was over some blob of basalt that had been shuffled around to make a trail through the rocks. The views were remarkable, but the hike was challenging carrying the heavy pack up the loose rock as I climbed steadily to Opie Dilldock Pass which was named after a comic character in the early 20th century.

I was happy to top out and get the views, but even happier to start going downhill again to get out of the open exposed rocky pass. It dropped me down into more meadows that I was able to follow until the junction with the Four in One Cone Trail. I had one more short section of trail that took me once again through the lava flow on the flanks of Yapoah Crater and then I was back to the Matthieu Lakes. I took the opposite trail from the one I hiked in on which was kind of a mistake, but kind of not to because it had a bit more up and down, but it gave me a different view then I had encountered on the way in.

The last few miles seemed to take a long time, but eventually I was back at the Lava Camp Lake Trailhead to find my vehicle waiting for me. The last day was another 18 miles, so I estimate that the whole trip I hiked about 52 miles or so around the sisters. This trip was fantastic and it had rejuvenated my spirit. I was ready for the next couple of months off of school to enjoy the summer sunshine.