South Sister Summit Climb

Easily the most punishing hike I will ever do, South Sister Summit is one of those hikes that cements your status as an "Oregonian". We started this hike around 6:30AM from the Devil's Lake trailhead off of the Cascade Lakes Scenic Highway. Total distance roundtrip was 11 miles with an elevation gain of 4900 feet. At no point during this hike, maybe the brief flat walk from Moraine Lake, do you ever find relief. Yet, this is a beautiful hike and one of the few summits you can reach without technical gear. I highly recommend bringing poles though, otherwise you will be falling all over the place as you start the final summit past teardrop pool. If you've got time and the gear, it's best to hike to Moraine Lake, set up shop overnight, then continue to the summit early the next day. One thing about this hike, it is insanely crowded. It is open from May-September with weekends seeing an upwards of 500+ people. If you want to avoid the crowds, try to summit on a weekday or camp overnight and get a head start from Moraine Lake. Enjoy the pictures, I still have PTSD from this hike, when I see these pictures all I think about is my calves exploding. Cheers.

Tory

Check out the hiking path below - courtesy of the Garmin Forerunner which tracks your location as you hike. It does not show the entire hike, I turned on the tracker about a mile or so in to the hike and then the watch died at the summit.