Trip Report

South Sister Loop Hike

After scanning smoke alerts and Tripcheck cameras on the morning of September 12, 2021, trip leader Russ Davies and assistant-leader-by-default Andy McIvor decided “What the heck,” and headed to the hills. This was scheduled to be a Devils Lake to Hwy 242 Pacific Crest Trail 3 day romp, but with hazy skies and only 2 people, it turned into a one-car trip. Magically, beyond Willamette Pass, the skies cleared for the duration of the trip, so bottled oxygen was not required.

Granted it was Sunday afternoon, but clearly the new permit system is having its intended affect. The was no line of cars parked on Cascade Lakes Highway, and the parking lots at Devils Lake and Green Lakes were only modestly full. Parking was easy. The permit checkers were out, and Forest Service volunteers checked us at the trailhead, and rangers later at Green Lakes.


By group consensus, we changed the route to a circumnavigation of South Sister. Mileage increased, as did leg aches. The hike to Green Lakes was the usual pleasant experience along Fall Creek, and we were shocked to see only 4 others in the usually busy Green Lakes campground. After a late lunch, we pushed on to Park Meadow, where we set up camp near a babbling brook. The meadow delighted with fall golden bunch grass, and the full view of Broken Top was broken only by the equally spectacular visage of a crumbling South Sister. Although only a 10 mile day, we settled in early for a 12 hour nap.

The next day, after unfreezing the water bottles for coffee and oatmeal, we were mildly alarmed to be following Green Lakes trail north and east of our destination, the saddle between Middle and South Sisters. And it was downhill, which meant when we finally gained the proper direction at the Camp Lake trail junction, we had a long uphill. This was through the ghost forest of an old burn, repopulating with many 3-4 foot high new trees. The forest returneth, but slowly.



We took a break at Soap Creek, a raging green-gray stream carrying to the sea the minerals and sediments of Middle Sister. We wanted to get to Chambers Lakes, on the other side the saddle at 7400 ft, so pushed past Camp Lake for the full 11.5 mile slogfest. The lakes are at low ebb, reflecting the miniscule size of the remaining glaciers. We were hiking right through the end of the glacier epoch, hurried out the door by the hottest summer in Oregon's history.

We camped in a large bowl containing the remnants of a lake, giant rock slides coming off Middle Sister to our north, and South Sister to our south. As water boiled for supper, the half moon rose over the flanks of Lady South. It felt just like the Galen Rowell book, “In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods.”

On the final day, beautiful weather and blue skies continued to grace us as we went through some of the prettiest alpine heather and meadow to the PCT. We swung south through mature forest into another large old burn, this one through old growth. The trees seemed no less stately for their black-and-white final years, particularly enhanced by fields of blue fireweed. Fireweed is now shedding its fluffy seeds. With the sunlight slanting just so, it was like walking through a dreamscape of fairy lint on its way to the Country Fair.


Our last leg was across the Sisters version of the Plains of Abraham, under the sun as the trail stretched a mile before us. We half expected a camel caravan to pass in the distance. Then down through the forest and along the highway back to the Prius, when after 13.5 miles, it was nice to make some yardage while sitting.


Low elevation: 5428 ft. High elevation: 7500 ft. Distance 35 miles.