Side Quest: South Sister
Head down and breathing hard, I am staring straight down at my own shadow and the steep trail before me with the bright morning sun at my back. After hiking all day yesterday past North, Middle and South Sister without a view of any of them because of fog and clouds, we have decided on a side quest. We have left the PCT for a day to seek the summit of South Sister. I have always loved the Three Sisters Wilderness in central Oregon and was feeling disappointed to pass through it without seeing much of the mountains themselves. Although I have climbed South Sister before, I think it was close to 40 years ago and I remember very little about it except that it was strenuous. I probably would not have taken on this side trip if I were traveling alone. It’s a potentially costly endeavor given how much my feet have been hurting, but looking at this clear blue day and feeling the crunch of volcanic gravel beneath my feet, I am so glad we are doing this.
Traveling with Ian has changed things for me quite a bit this past week. I have his continuously good natured company during the day, a strong hiking partner, great conversations and also a cribbage partner every evening which has been a really fun addition to my routine. What I didn’t expect is that I find myself concerned about him having a good enough time to make this worth his while. I notice myself wondering if he is bored of all this walking, especially if the scenery is any less than spectacular (he assures me that he is not bored). So I was quite eager for us to have this summit day together.
It will be about 16 miles and 4300 vertical feet, quite similar to a PCT trail day only with lighter packs because we left our tents set up in camp. The route has a trail snaking the whole way up made of gravel, sand and larger jagged volcanic rock. The walking is difficult, backsliding with every step, but my body remembers how to walk on this sort of stuff. Although I’m in good shape, I have not been above 7000 feet on this trip, and I can definitely feel the altitude as we get higher. I try to find a steady rhythm with my breathing, but it’s chaotic and hard to stabilize. Sometimes I just have to pause for a few extra breaths to let my heart rate slow a bit before continuing. Even though it’s hard, it feels so good to be hiking up one of my old favorite mountains again. As he has done the whole trip, Ian stays behind me, patiently letting me set the pace.
At 9000 feet there is a surprise waiting for us, a beautiful hidden lake of the most unreal aqua color. We pause for photos. The final 1300 feet is a steep gravely slog to the summit now on red volcanic rock instead of gray. We share the trail with quite a few other people already on their way down. The summit has a huge crater filled with snow and a patch of melt water forming a kind of miniature crater lake. We walked around the entire crater and ate our lunch while enjoying the view of nearby Middle and North Sisters and beyond to Mount Washington, Mount Jefferson and even Mount Hood.
Oregon has been much less sentimental for me than I expected. This could be in part because I am not hiking alone. I have Ian’s good company to keep me from getting too broody or melancholy. It could be that my experiences in Oregon, while formative and important to me, were just so very long ago that it was another lifetime. Rather than feeling like I’m returning to an old haunt, today’s climb feels like a first time event, a once in a lifetime beautiful summit day shared with my son, unique and unrepeatable.
