Group Members: Rod Jacobson, Mike Casey, Tom Scott & Daniel Brewster.
We met at the Pole Creek Trailhead @ 4:30p, introduced ourselves to one another, got our boots on & packs packed and hit the trail @ 5p. I wore my Garmin 305 wrist GPS & used it to log a majority of the journey (until the rechargeable battery went dead). The weather was perfect at the start & all through the weekend.
I had broken my ankle in 2 places in a rock climbing fall 6 weeks earlier, so I was the weak link in the chain. I was told that I wouldn’t do any permanent damage to my ankle by making the climb, so I went for it.
We stopped at the creek for a photo op, and to take in the beauty of the moment. Instead of taking the usual 2 hrs. to get to ‘base camp’, it took us 2.5 hrs., because of my slow pace. We found a clearing suitable for 3.5 tents @ 6850’ – 1500’ above the trailhead. It was conveniently located right next to a creek, so we didn’t have to go far for water. Our camp was at the base of both M. & N. Sisters, so we had great views of both. We made camp, ate dinner & were in bed by 8:30p. Daniel sported a bivy sack, while the rest of us went w/ the roomier, heavier 2-man tents.
We awoke (some earlier than others) to an alpenglow morning, w/ the rose-colored glow illuminating the mountains. After making breakfast & packing our day-packs, we were on the trail by 8a. We were making such good time that I decided to take us on a scenic detour, so we could start climbing Hayden Glacier right at the base, rather than taking the easy way that everyone else appeared to go. It’s funny how so many things, from the glacier up, had changed since the last time I was up here . At this point we put on our crampons, except for Mike, who was having technical difficulties. Daniel & Tom forged ahead to confirm that this was indeed the path we wanted to be taking. Our 2-way radios came in handy at this point. After dodging a few crevasses, & stepping over one, we made our way farther up the glacier. At the top of the glacier, the surface had numerous divots everywhere, like a series of bombs went off forming hundreds of foxholes. We stayed S. of Prouty Point, rather than the traditional route of staying N. & passing through the Col. The wind was really blowing by now, & we were all feeling a little cool, especially those w/o shells. After scrambling up a crumbly 40’ embankment (our technical climbing for the day), we were on the N. side trail to the top (1000’ feet to go). Tom & Daniel scurried to the top, while I brought up the rear. After ~45 minutes of ‘2 steps up, 1 step back’ (scree climbing), I arrived at the summit @ 11a – 3 hrs. after leaving camp. Visibility could have been better, but it could have been worse also (forest fires). Not rushed by any spouses demanding our expedient return, we lounged in the sun & enjoyed the view. There were 2 other small groups on top also while we were there.
After about 1.5 hrs., Tom & Daniel decided to head back down the way we came up, so they could get back to camp ASAP & get on the road (Tom had a wedding, late in the day, he had to get to). Mike & I hung out for an additional half hour. We had decided to head down the S. side & explore the area between the M. & S. Sisters & Camp Lake. Just before we were to head down, Mike had a previously injured rib pop out, which put him in a lot of pain. After using a scarf that someone had left behind to wrap his chest, we headed down, slowly. It reminded me of a ‘blind leading the blind’ situation – we weren’t sure who was worse off. After descending ~1K’, we met w/ thousands of butterflies – this was pretty much the extent of the wildlife we were to see on this outing. There really wasn’t much of a trail down on the S. side; most of the time we were walking on rocks that we hoped would not roll over under us, and they didn’t (we got lucky). It was at this time that my GPS battery died, leaving us with less technical info for the rest of the trip. After reaching the snow fields toward the base of the mountain, we got to have some fun in the form of skiing w/o skis. I wear a size 13 boot, so I was able to ‘ski’ down one of the fields all the way in parallel – this was one of the highlights of my day. Camp Lake didn’t look that far from the top, but it seemed to take us forever to get there. We were very grateful to finally make the lake just before 3:30p. After evaluating the wildlife, we found a spot to soak our hot & sore feet. The water was ice cold & gave us some serious relief.
We hit the trail home @ 4p. It took us the next 2 hrs., traveling at an average speed of 2.8 MPH, to travel what the map claimed was ~2.0 miles. This error on the map’s part could cost someone their life. Even if we only averaged a pitiful 2.5 MPH for 2 hrs., that’s 5 miles – over a factor of 2 difference! We arrived at camp at 6p w/ just enough time to hike out, if we had wanted to, but we both had enough hiking for one day, besides we couldn’t think of a better place to spend the night. I was beat & was in the sack by 7p – probably the earliest I’ve chosen to go to bed in decades.
After a great night’s sleep, we got up, took in the view, ate breakfast & hit the trail @ 8:40a. We took our time & enjoyed the hike out, arriving @ the trailhead @ 11:10a (another 2.5 hrs.).
After being in major pain for 90% of the trip, my ankle was extremely happy to finally be looking at some ‘up’ time. Had I known ahead of time the pain I was going to be in, I probably wouldn’t have made the trip, but now that I did do it, I’m glad I did. This redeemed me from an attempt I made ~ 5 yrs. ago on M. Sister, where I took a wrong turn, ended up crossing a serious scree field at the base of the N. Sister (on the N. side of the moraine lakes) & ran out of time to summit.
We will be making a similar assault on the N. Sister in May 2007 (check out the Calendar @ www.cascadesmountaineers.org).
Hiking/climbing summary for Mike & Rod: ~20 miles, 6000 vertical feet, 12.5 hrs. on the trail.