South Sister Pay 2 Play

[Arturo]

I summited South Sister Saturday. What a mess that hill is. Just way too many people. Kind of made me appreciate the limit on St. Helens. I think they need to cap hikers per day ... with or without a fee for the permit. The wear and tear on the trail is really evident and while I met some very cool people there were just too many overall. I think the only way to save it is to have hikers pay for it.

Speaking of save, I crossed paths with the lost hiker. I was on my way down while he was coming up about half way to Teardrop. His partner was struggling hard. I gave her a small can of Boost I keep in my bag. There was no way she was gonna make it. He must of left her behind. Bad idea to summit at 6:00pm in September with no light and solo. Glad he made it.

The summit itself ...? It was amazing. Enjoyed it tremendously. Hard as heck too.

[arundodonax]

I asked the FS person stationed at the trailhead this year if they are considering quotas anytime soon and he suggested, yes, for both South Sister and Green Lakes. Quotas and permits are a touchy subject on this board, but I think they'd be a good idea for both areas.

[adamschneider]

I assume that a Green Lakes permit system would only be for overnight stays.

[retired jerry]

I think people on this site aren't so critical of quotas, just how they're implemented?

They could just have a fixed number per day, a percentage could be reserved, a small fee to cover administrative costs,...

[arundodonax]

Like the sierra permits - $6 to reserve, or free to walk up.

I think you're right about Green Lakes being an overnight only permit, but then again they already are using the "stake" system. Obsidian and Pamelia are both day-use permits right now so it wouldn't be unheard of to make day use permits also. And I've had both my Obsidian and Pamelia permits checked by rangers in the past.

I just remember discussing quotas here about Goat Rocks and feeling the wrath. I still think Goat Rocks should have an overnight quota too...

[kepPNW]

Had the entire summit to myself for hours a few weeks ago. Trick is in the timing. The crowds are getting a little crazy, though. I almost reposted a summit shot (someone else took) the other day with the caption, "Next Oneonta?" Three years ago, we counted 135 people coming up while we went down. A month ago, the number was 441. Still, I don't see the trail degradation you speak of. Seemed to be the same rock and ash it was back then. Oh, and Teardrop is on top - guessing you were referring to Lewis Tarn at about 8800'?

[Arturo]

Had the entire summit to myself for hours a few weeks ago. Trick is in the timing. The crowds are getting a little crazy, though. I almost reposted a summit shot (someone else took) the other day with the caption, "Next Oneonta?" Three years ago, we counted 135 people coming up while we went down. A month ago, the number was 441. Still, I don't see the trail degradation you speak of. Seemed to be the same rock and ash it was back then. Oh, and Teardrop is on top - guessing you were referring to Lewis Tarn at about 8800'?

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, it was Lewis Tarn.

The trail was just slop with hundreds of people ascending/descending simultaneously.
Tons of lava rock sliding/falling all over the place with insufficient spacing between hikers. It was like a theater line.

Timing is certainly everything but as you know that mountain has it's own calendar ... there's a whole bunch of days that the summit is unreachable. Perhaps that has something to do with the large crowds on the better days but St. Helens seems to work with a quota and fee for climbing it. I think it's near time to do the same for South Sister. And I was against the St. Helens model originally. Now having summited it twice in the past two years I appreciate the difference the quota makes.

[Arturo]

Like the sierra permits - $6 to reserve, or free to walk up.

THIS.
Being that South Sister weather is more variable than St. Helens, it's a good idea to have a free walkup option.
If you want to get inside the quota, get there early.
If you want to reserve and gamble $6 you can do that too.

[kepPNW]

The trail was just slop with hundreds of people ascending/descending simultaneously.
Tons of lava rock sliding/falling all over the place with insufficient spacing between hikers. It was like a theater line.

I think that's the nature of the geology, much more than any impact a few humans have had. And I can tell you it was really no different when 100 folks were coming up than when 400 were.

Timing is certainly everything but as you know that mountain has it's own calendar ... there's a whole bunch of days that the summit is unreachable. Perhaps that has something to do with the large crowds on the better days

So time it differently! I've started climbing it at 10pm and 3pm, and both times had (or shared with a friend) total summit solitude.

St. Helens seems to work with a quota and fee for climbing it.

Couldn't disagree more.

[Paul2]

I did South Sister in mid-July this year. Not too much snow to go through and almost no people. It was a weekday, but we started from Moraine Lake at 8:00 am and saw maybe 30 people max.