My Hiking Adventure

So today I wanted to do a different style of blog post and share a super fun experience I had this past Monday! I didn’t post a blog post on Monday because I instead drove out to Central Oregon to hike the Green Lake trail!

The views out there are so stunning. I always tell people that area of Oregon is a hidden gem. The trees, the mountains, and the glacier lakes… everything is magnificent! Mom and I decided to go out there very last minute because we heard that next year the forest service out there will be permitting all those beautiful hikes so as to keep track of who is hiking that day and keep numbers down. This will hopefully also help preserve the beautiful wildlife there and cut back on the trash and human footprint on the land. I am torn because I’m sad it’ll be a bit harder to hike out there, but then so happy they are taking steps to preserve that beautiful treasure for years to come. I had to wade through part of a river during part of the hike and someone had taken off their dirty Band-Aid and just left it there in the midst of all this beauty. So I’m hoping this permitting will help fight back at that!

I drove us out there and mom drove us back home. The drive is about 2 and a half hours, but with some beautiful views. You go past lakes and then slowly ascend up the Willamette Pass. The air is cleaner, the sky is so clear, everywhere you look there is some snow capped mountain or huge mountain lake. As we got closer to our destination the Three Sisters loomed in front of us. So tall and majestic and almost daunting in a way. I’ve hiked the South Sister twice and so it was exciting to see that huge mountain and know I had been at the very top not once, but two times!

 

We started hiking at 9:03 am. It was sunny, but crisp so I wore my sweatshirt for a bit before taking it off and tying it around my waist. I slathered myself in bug spray because the mosquitoes are bad up there. I was able to protect my arms and upper body, but the spray didn’t stick to my leggings so my poor legs are covered in itchy bug bites right now. Honestly I’m VERY self-conscious and will be wearing long leggings and pants for a while until they are less red.. haha. The trail winded up easily through pine trees and woods right by the stream. There were multiple little waterfalls along the way and once in a while a break in the hills so you could see the South Sister getting closer. After the forest there is part of the trail that walks right by the river with a huge hill of lava and obsidian rock on the other side. You then hit a ridge and walk down into an open plain with the lake right in front of you. The lake is a deep blue green color because it’s a glacier lake and VERY COLD!

Mom and I found a trail that went around the lake so instead of stopping where all the other hikers stopped we kept going until we came to a little spot on the other side of the lake that was a perfect little pocket right by the water. We stopped there for about forty minutes or so and had lunch. I sat by the water and watched all the tiny fish and tadpoles swimming in the clear water. We then finished trekking around the lake. We lost the trail when we hit the old flood plain that is now dry loose rock with little plants here and there, but we kept going. In the hike description it says you might have to forge your own trail for a bit if you go the way we did. We found a huge group of little frogs though by one of the streams and got to walk through snow that was right on the side of the South Sister before we then waded through a little stream to get back to the main trail. Such a fun adventure and time with my mom!

The hike back was pretty easy, almost all downhill, and it went by way faster than climbing up had. We kept stopping throughout our hike though, for what I called “beauty breaks” just to take everything around us in. You have to when you’re there. Definitely not an area to just hike through and not look left or right and take in all the sights. We got back to our car at 2:27 so the hike was not long at all really. I would recommend if you do want to go hike to start earlier in the morning like we did because we saw a lot more people when we were hiking back and it was pretty calm and quiet on our hike out there and during our lunch time. Plus it isn’t as hot yet!

I would so recommend this hike if you want to see some GORGEOUS sights and get out into the beautiful outdoors! I am kind of miserable though to be honest. I got really sore the day after which is understandable because we hiked around ten miles. I’m not as sore anymore because I walked it out, worked out a bit and then used muscle rubs and rolled on my foam roller. I did get a sunburn because you are pretty high up and out in the open so bring sunscreen. AND my legs are covered in itchy mosquito bites. So bring bug spray and slather it on your skin, not on your clothes above your skin. Make sure it makes contact with your skin! But other than that it was so beautiful up there and I would so recommend the hike to anyone! Xo

S’Agapo