Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

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illbeyourhuckleberry
Posts: 14
Joined: August 24th, 2021, 9:50 pm

Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

Post by illbeyourhuckleberry » September 18th, 2021, 5:47 pm

Better late than never I hope. I benefitted much from other's trail reports and hope some may find mine useful.

This was our first time doing this loop and despite less than ideal conditions was still amazing.

Day 1) 7.32 miles Lava Lake Camp Trailhead to Alder Creek
Day 2) 12.07 miles to Golden Lake
Day 3) 7.79 miles to Moraine Lake
Day 4) 9.84 miles to Reese Lake
Day 5) 16.16 miles to Lava Lake Camp Trailhead

Day 1 started off with the promise of blue skies, but soon gave way to haze from forest fires. We knew Alder Creek would be dry so cameled up at South Mathieu Lake in anticipation of the long water carry. We got a late start due to our 3 1/2 hour drive to the trailhead so we were glad to get in a little more mileage this day, but sure felt all that extra water. When we arrived to Alder Creek we met a group of 20-somethings who were also doing the loop and told us there was plenty of room for us to camp there too. They asked us where we planned to camp next and we shared our map with them so they could figure out some different options.
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Burn area
Day 2 The weather was still in the 80s-90s so we got up early to beat the heat. I knew we'd be walking through a lot of burn and have walked through other burn areas but I was not prepared for the enormity of this burn. It felt like we were on a post-apocalyptic trek and the sameness became disorienting. My mood might have been lightened if we'd at least had a view of the mountains, but they were just ghosts. I told myself I wouldn't have had a view had the forest never burned but that didn't help much. Fortunately, even though we could smell the smoke it didn't affect our breathing and the occasional breeze gave us some hope for it clearing.
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More Burn
I would've loved to hiked this area before the fire but maybe that would have been even more depressing. The one good thing was a trail clearing party had just been through on Labor Day weekend so nearly all the fallen trees we were expecting to crawl over had been cleared! We were so grateful for this and I really want to find out which organization did this so we can make a donation.
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Thank you trail clearers!
We were happy to reach the clear running water at Soap Creek but still had several miles of burn to walk through. We didn't have to top off much since we'd been carrying extra water which we stopped doing at this point and there were plenty of water opportunities for the rest of the loop. The next creek we came to, North Fork Whychus, was flowing but like chocolate milk unlike the South Fork which we came to next which was crystal clear and offered a little shade and more greenery than we'd seen all day. We rested here a while and there's a perfect place to sit on the grassy bank and soak one's feet in the cold water.
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Whychus Creek South Fork
Once restored, we continued on to Golden Lake. I was so happy we were finally out of this vast burn.

Golden Lake did not disappoint and was such a beautiful sight after a long, hot day. I went in for a swim and we had the whole place to ourselves. I would come back just to explore this place more. We had crazy gusty wind that night and were glad we weren't still in the burn area as I can't imagine how many dead trees must've fallen that night. The wind blew most of the smoke away except around Broken Top. I enjoyed a backpackless morning walk around the lake and clear views of the Three Sisters. Alas, this would be our last day of clear views.
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Sunrise view of Middle and North Sister
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Broken Top
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South Sister reflected in Golden Lake
Day 3 was an easy low-mileage hike to Moraine Lake. Though clearer, the smoke was starting to seep back. The Green Lakes Basin area was stunning and though we saw several day hikers we would've had the whole place to ourselves had we decided to camp there. There are many designated campsites at Moraine Lake which all involve walking down the steep hill to get your water. We didn't mind as we got there early and enjoyed taking turns in the hammock from which we would've had a spectacular view of South Sister if not for the smoke. (campsite 11) The campsites are very well spread out and it took some walking about for me to find the others. There was one other couple there who planned to hike the South Sister summit the following morning. If we had stayed at campsite 10 we would've had a spectacular sunrise view of Broken Top, but it was even further from the water and a more exposed area of the ridge. We also enjoyed watching a flock of crossbills scavenging around our site.
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Moraine Lake
Day 4, unfortunately the smoke came back in and stayed with us for most of the day as we started making our way north through the Wickiup Plain which is another area I look forward to returning to when flowers are blooming and the sky is clear. The combination of hot and no view was disappointing, but just focused on all the interesting things we could see. Our original plan was to go to Husband Lake but were put off by a 'meh' report by a couple we met who were doing the loop in the opposite direction. That was enough since we also didn't feel like adding any more mileage at that point. We'd also gotten undersold on Reese Lake, so were pleasantly surprised by this little beauty with its clear jade waters. I suppose it is probably much more crowded in the summer. We did share the lake with four others that night, but there was plenty of room for everyone. We'd gotten a weather report for rain that night and it was accurate.
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Reese Lake
Day 5 brought gentle rain which cleared the air and provided a brief morning glimpse of South Sister before the fog rolled in and stayed with us the rest of the day. Now we had no view, but it was a much nicer way of not having a view. The temperature dropped to comfortable 50s-60s. We enjoyed a brief stop at Obsidian Falls but mostly hiked straight through to stay warm.
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Obsidian Falls
As we hiked up through Opie Dildock Pass the fog was so thick we could barely see to the next short switchback and it made for an ethereal hike as the dramatic lava formations and dead trees loomed into view.
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Opie Dildock Pass
Our original plan had been to hike to South Lake Mathieu and stay one more night but the thought of setting up our wet tent while it was still raining and we were only 3 miles from the car did not appeal to either of us at that point so we hiked on for our highest mileage day of the trip.

We loved this hike in spite of the smoke and weather and we have said we could do this exact same hike again in the future and it could be entirely different for us. We already have an alternate loop in mind for next year and look forward to hopefully many more years of exploration in this area. We may even squeeze in another short trip to the area after Sept 24th, time and weather permitting. Happy trails, All!

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sgyoung
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Joined: November 3rd, 2013, 7:30 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

Post by sgyoung » September 19th, 2021, 10:35 am

Man, that looks like a rough few days on the trail. The smoke + old burn combo does make for a grim scene, but glad to read that you still enjoyed the experience. Honestly, I'm not sure I would have had a ton of fun under the conditions you described, but I guess even in the haze being outside and in nature is always welcome.

Of course, you did get some views too so that helps. Beautiful pictures of the sisters in the sunrise. Central OR is a really special place.

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illbeyourhuckleberry
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Joined: August 24th, 2021, 9:50 pm

Re: Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

Post by illbeyourhuckleberry » September 19th, 2021, 12:46 pm

I was definitely feeling disheartened at the end of the second day but Golden Lake lifted my spirits tremendously. We focused on the micro views instead of the macro views and, yes, grateful to just be out there and unplugged for several days!

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retired jerry
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

Post by retired jerry » September 19th, 2021, 2:30 pm

I don't mind the burned areas

They have better views when those annoying trees are gone :)

It's natural. I like to follow the area in the following years and see how it grows back. You see smaller plants first, then tree seedlings,... Usually, the burn isn't widespread, there are patches that are unaffected.

A problem is that we have fought fires too aggressively, leaving areas with too much flammable stuff so that when it finally burns, it's out of control. Seeing an area that burned shows that we're not continuing to make this mistake of forest management.

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illbeyourhuckleberry
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Joined: August 24th, 2021, 9:50 pm

Re: Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

Post by illbeyourhuckleberry » September 19th, 2021, 4:50 pm

I certainly wouldn’t have minded as much if I’d had views! While there was some vegetation coming back I was surprised at how sparse much of it was nearly 10 years later. The burn areas on the west side were also completely different and many large trees survived unlike the east side which was mostly toothpicks. Was the east side logged before it was designated wilderness area? The dead trees were much smaller and closer together much like replanting after a clear cut. I also did some research on the fire and learned that the forest service dropped the ball when notified early on of the first sign of smoke. We will definitely go back to see how it evolves over time.

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BurnsideBob
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Joined: May 6th, 2014, 3:15 pm
Location: Mount Angel, Oregon

Re: Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

Post by BurnsideBob » September 20th, 2021, 7:25 pm

Thank you for your trip report. I've got it bookmarked for the information about water and campsites and
your photo "More Burn" was spectacularly striking. I thought, "Wow, an image that captures what late season hiking will be like!"

Then I realized no, that is how late season hiking is now.

Somewhat off topic but I mention it because some recent posts aren't clear (pun intended). The reason some streams are clear and some are milky/silty is the source(s). If the source is a glacier the stream will become siltier as the previous winter's snow melts away. North Whychus drains from the glaciers on the east side of Middle Sister. South Whychus drains from Park Lake.

Anyhow, if you were to hike the opposite direction you might have an entirely different experience. You passed Yapoah Crater in the fog--here's how it looked two days later on 12 September!

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Hope to follow your footsteps some day,

Burnside
I keep making protein shakes but they always turn out like margaritas.

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illbeyourhuckleberry
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Joined: August 24th, 2021, 9:50 pm

Re: Three Sisters Loop September 6-10, 2021

Post by illbeyourhuckleberry » September 20th, 2021, 7:57 pm

Thanks for the info on the water sources…so much to discover about this area. And thanks for the pic of Yapoah too!

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