South Sister Summit Climb

I had an entirely free weekend in September, and Emily was in San Francisco for school, so I decided to embark on a solo journey to Bend, Oregon (~3.5 hr drive from Portland) in seek of the ultimate outdoor adventure.  I ended up working a little later than expected on Friday, so I did not arrive at the South Sister Mountain trailhead until about 11:30PM.  I slept a few hours in my 4runner to give my body a little time to acclimate to the altitude.  Lying on my back, staring out the open sunroof at the stars reminded me how lucky I am to live near such great wilderness areas.  I awoke at 3:30AM to get a true "alpine start" and to keep my body from starting another 4 hour REM sleep cycle. (Aside - I figured out in grad school, both through empirical self study and through reading scientific literature in REM cycles, that if I get my sleep in multiples of 4hrs, I wake up fully rested...it's how I can manage a very demanding job and a demanding desire for fun activities that fuel this blog....4 hrs sleep and go!) 
The first few miles of the climb were supposed to be an easy hike through a hemlock forest.  About 2 miles into the hike, the trail dead ended.  I traced my tracks back to see if I had missed a turnoff.  I could not find the rest of the trail.  I ended up wasting a few hours stumbling through the woods in the dark, alone.  It's times like these that build character and test your mental fortitude!  I had two options: either walk back the way I came all the way to the start and try to find someone else that might know the way or push onwards and upwards.  I did the latter.  With my compass guiding me in the general direction of the summit, I knew that daylight and a clearing at the top of the treeline would afford me a vantage point to find the trail. 

lost in a hemlock forest, this is my view

as if being in the woods alone in the dark is not scary enough, I found a large bone on the trail...I kept telling myself it was from a deer

Well, my plan to find the trail worked.  I ended up crossing a nearby trail system that later intersected with the summit trail I had intended on traveling.  I met some other climbers on the trail who had started at 7AM...I guess my alpine start did not get me up the mountain any earlier.  :(

the sun crept up behind Mt Bachelor

my first view of the summit

After my initial blunders in the woods, the rest of the climb was textbook.  The mountain apologized to me for the rude awakening, bestowing breathtaking sights all along the way:

Lewis glacier...blue skies and crystal teal waters in contrast to the dry, red cinder

steep and loose cinder near the false summit

Tear Drop Lake at the false summit;

 the glacier runoff water is so clear you can even see the bottom in this picture

I made it to the summit of South Sister (10,358 ft) around noon and spent an hour, just soaking in some sun and enjoying the views:

this is what my hair looks like after hiking 5000 ft elevation gain

 

atop South Sister with Middle and North Sister in the background...perhaps someday I will climb the other two, in a tribute to my 3 sisters

The descent was fast and loose...literally and figuratively.  The top was crumbling cinder that often gave way under your boots, causing sort of a semi-controlled slide down the mountain.  Once back on the dirt trail, I let go and jogged down the hill, letting gravity do the work.  For the last 2 miles, I was running sub 8 min/mile pace (with a day pack), just wanting to get back quicker to relax my feet, which were developing blisters.  I would rather push through and get it over with than drag it out for another hour.  I never really like the descents much because the thrill of reaching the summit is gone, the views are similar to what I already saw during the climb, and I am usually getting low on food and water.  I did, however, stop a few times as the mountain continued to remind me just how beautiful she is:

 

Lewis glacier

Moraine lake

Finally, I'm back at the truck, cracking an ice cold Pyramid I had stashed in my cooler.  I tried to take a bath in a nearby stream, only to discover that glacial runoff is so damn cold that you cannot force your body to stay under water for more than about 30 seconds.  Oh well, it was refreshing while it lasted.  

Hanging on the back of my truck, my mountain bike reminded me that this adventure weekend had only begun, so I rolled into town and refueled with dinner at my favorite microbrewery, Deschutes.  Afterwards, I met up with an old friend from H.S. who owns The Horned Hand in Bend.  After watching a few local/regional bands play, I decided to call it an early night, and retired to my truck for another peaceful night under the sunroof-framed stars.

 a view of my deluxe accommodations for the weekend

(hey, it's easier than setting up a tent each night)

On Sunday, I awoke at 5AM to make the two hour drive west to the former logging town of Oakridge.  As the logging industry in Oakridge has since dried up, it is trying to re-invent itself as a mountain bike destination, and they have a fine start at this goal by hosting some of the best trails in the Pac NW (excluding Whistler).
I had breakfast at a local diner, where I ran into a group of mountain bikers from Canada.  They had been riding in the area for a few days and were friendly enough to let me join them on the trails (sure beats riding alone).  We parked our vehicles near the end of the trail and took the shuttle from town to ride the Lawler trail, which climbs 700 feet before dropping over 3000 feet over 12 miles...after climbing South Sister the previous day, my legs appreciated the downhill sections.  The trail has some very intense steeps with tight switchbacks; enough to keep my adrenaline up and my brakes as hot as an iron.  It was a great day of riding with my new found friends from Canada.

Legs exhausted and brain refreshed, I ventured back to reality and got home in enough time to clean up before Emily arrived from her SF flight.
All that...in one weekend.  Life is good, my friends.