Way Back Wednesday #2 – Oregon (October 2019)

For the second installment of my Way Back series, we go to the beautiful Pacific Northwest (PNW), probably my favorite place in the USA. I was in Portland for a conference in October 2019, and decided to get some hikes in while I was there. I did a bit of hiking before my conference and a bit after, so it was a nice balance. The hikes I did were all really fun and incredible, they were:

1. Mount Hood (to Cooper Spur Shelter)
2. Black Crater
3. South Sister via Green Lakes

Mount Hood (to Cooper Spur Shelter)

Mount Hood at 3429 meters is the tallest mountain in the state of Oregon, and provides a beautiful backdrop in downtown Portland. It is a technical climb to the summit, but there are a ton of great hiking options which gain a decent amount of elevation but only require a good pair of hiking boots (I ended up needing more than that!). I elected to hike to the Cooper Spur Shelter, which is situated at roughly 2040 meters and is located at the intersection between the Cooper Spur trail and the Timberline Trail, which is a long through hiking trail that circumnavigates the Mount Hood wilderness.

The hike started off fairly easy but it began to snow about an hour in and it got quite deep very quickly. Traction became a problem as I just had on my hiking boots, but was still able to push on. By the time I reached the shelter, it was very cloudy and I could not see a thing, was very disappointed to not be able to see the Hood summit up close. After resting a bit and chatting with some young folks who were multi-day hiking the Timberline Trail, I began my descent. The clouds lifted as I neared the bottom and was able to see Hood as well as some other peaks. Looking forward to coming back to this one and climbing to the summit!

Black Crater

After my conference I drove south to Bend, which is a small city right at the edge of the Cascade range, and has great access to a number of trails and wilderness areas. I stayed at an AirBNB for a couple nights, doing a smaller half day hike on Black Crater before heading to the Three Sisters.

Black Crater is a fairly low peak which lies just north of the Three Sisters, a trio of high mountains, and is a fairly modest hike through the forest before emerging onto the plateau where a view of the Sisters awaits. Prior to this hike I went to an outfitter and grabbed a pair of Yak Trax to help with traction (a problem on my Cooper Spur trail hike).

When I got to the top (2212 meters) it was very cloudy, foggy, and cold and not much could be seen. However, I was determined to wait it out for the clouds to lift, so I hunkered down sheltered from the wind and was eventually rewarded with the glorious sight of North and Middle Sister emerging from the clouds (South Sister was hidden behind Middle Sister). What a view! After reveling in their beauty for a few minutes, I descended to the trailhead.

South Sister (via Green Lakes)

This was the pinnacle of my trip – an overnight multi-day hike to the summit of South Sister, which at 3158 meters is the 3rd highest peak in Oregon after Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson. South Sister is a fairly non-technical trail (Class 1 or 2 depending on conditions) and can be done in a single day, but is much more manageable to do in two. The other two Sisters are climbable as well, though more difficult and far less visited. Middle Sister (4th highest in Oregon) is probably a Class 2, and North Sister (5th highest and known as the Beast of the Cascades) is Class 3 or 4 with a ton of exposed scrambling.

For this hike, I opted to park at the South Sister trailhead, camp at the trailhead and get an early start the next day. I walked along the road to the Green Lakes trailhead, which provided a moderate ascent to some gorgeous glacial lakes as well as a view of Broken Top (2797 meters). After enjoying lunch, I got back on the trail and made my way to Moraine Lake at around 1870m, a go-to spot for hikers looking to do backcountry camping. I found an incredible spot with the best view, set up camp and after collecting some water, went to bed.

My plan was to leave camp and just take what I needed for the day hike for my summit hike. I got an early pre-sunrise start and made my way from Moraine to the South Sister trail. It started fairly easy before quickly becoming steep. It took almost 3 hours to make my way up the trail – definitely the hardest hike I’ve done! I eventually reached the summit caldera (did I mention that these mountains are dormant volcanoes?) and saw the summit on the north side. FATMAP said that there was a trail looping around the perimeter of the crater, but I opted to just walk across the frozen, snow filled bowl to the other side. The view was as good as I could have ever asked for – perfectly clear with many peaks in the surrounding area visible. I could even see Mount Adams and Mount St. Helens in Washington, over 200 kilometers away!

After spending an hour resting and enjoying the view, I began the treacherous descent. There was a ton of hard-packed snow and scree on the trail, which made things a bit nasty, but I took my time and took it easy. Here was where my trekking poles (which I had gotten prior to this trip) really shone! I made it back to my campsite and broke camp. Already tired from the tough climb and descent from the summit, it was slow and painful descending the South Sister trail to the car. Was super tired but very happy with how things went!

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was an incredible trip and really made me fall in love with the PNW. I can’t wait to return and see more of this beautiful state, as well as Washington and northern California. Some peaks/hikes I’m definitely looking to do at some point include the remaining two Sisters, Crater Lake, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Mount Hood (summit) and Mount Rainier.

Injury Update

My hip is feeling really good – no pain/discomfort for the last couple weeks. I’ve been doing some really great exercises to get the glutes/hip flexors warmed up before I run and it’s worked wonders. You know you’re getting old when your warmup is as long as your workout…

Thank you CMCC for the treatment/exercise plan!