3 Sisters area, Little Brother, Yapoah Crater & more 081914

Discussions and Trip Reports for off-trail adventures and rediscovering lost trails
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Don Nelsen
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3 Sisters area, Little Brother, Yapoah Crater & more 081914

Post by Don Nelsen » August 21st, 2014, 7:11 pm

It looked at first glance that the weather would be great for another 3 Sisters adventure on Tuesday the 19th – and it was, except for the cold and wind! Oh well – at least I managed to bring a windbreaker, gloves and a hat this time. Truth be known it was only uncomfortable on the highest ridges when gusts propelled small grit and sand at me. The rest of the time conditions were pretty good. I saw but two mosquitos: One got splattered and died on the back of my hand before it got a chance to inoculate me and the other just buzzed me and left. No other bugs to be seen anywhere except unobtrusive hordes of small light colored gnat-like things that flew up as I walked through some of the meadows.

I car-camped near McKenzie pass on Monday night so got a pretty good start on this sunny morning with just a few clouds in the area.

A nice little lake about1.8 miles south of the pass along the PCT:
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I left the PCT after about 4 miles and headed toward Collier Glacier on a meandering path of least resistance. After taking a look at what was left of the glacier and briefly chatting with some EPA guys who were drilling through the glacier to determine ice loss/gain, I climbed Little Brother. That done, I walked the narrow ridge of the west lateral moraine left from Collier Glacier’s Little Ice Age surge. I took the boot path trail up and around Collier Cone and headed back to the PCT on another meandering path taking in the sights.

A few pics along the way:
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Yapoah Crater - I thought I'd climb it on the way back but ran out of time:
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Close up:
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Collier Cone from the east side:
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The lake at the one-time terminus of the Collier Glacier:
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Little Brother behind the western lateral moraine:
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Even in this otherwise bleak terrain of the glacier's outwash plain there are a few spots of surprising color and even a few flowers:
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High on the slopes of Little Brother I spotted the daunting summit pinnacle:
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Fortunately, the holds were good and I managed to scale the thing without getting into trouble:
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Back down from Little Brother, I decided to walk the ridge of the west side moraine:
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Looking back, now on the shoulder of Collier Cone:
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Looking down from the summit of Collier Cone. By now, the wind must have been 40 MPH and the clouds were moving in.
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I headed cross-country, eventually reaching the PCT. Here's Yapoah Crater again showing nothing of the brilliant color that adorns its summit. I was out of time so had to forgo this last summit. Next time.
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I camped near the pass again that night. The next morning as I drove off it started to rain but at least I got to see a nice rainbow:
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22.4 miles, about 5,600 vertical, 11 3/4 hours.

The map:
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"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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kepPNW
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Location: Salmon Creek

Re: 3 Sisters area, Little Brother, Yapoah Crater & more 081

Post by kepPNW » August 23rd, 2014, 6:52 am

That sure looks like a fun, if challenging, hike! I just love that area. We were only a few miles apart (http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... =8&t=19850), it seems! Which makes me wonder about the differences in weather. Not sure we saw hardly any clouds, and certainly no wind, after the morning haze. I like your idea of camping near trailheads down there, and then doing long dayhikes through that beautiful landscape.
Karl
Back on the trail, again...

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retired jerry
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Re: 3 Sisters area, Little Brother, Yapoah Crater & more 081

Post by retired jerry » August 23rd, 2014, 7:05 am

hmmm... more ideas from Don... I'll have to start out following that ridge from South Mathieu

You can see boot paths or game trails all over around there.

raven
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Re: 3 Sisters area, Little Brother, Yapoah Crater & more 081

Post by raven » August 23rd, 2014, 7:43 am

I haven't been in that country for a while, but the last time I was I had the Geographics topo of the area. It showed hiking routes that were to me in unexpected locations but which were very useful for efficiently connecting other parts of my route. If I did not have that map I would have assumed they were game trails, but the map demonstrated they connected places humans would want to have connected.
Last edited by raven on August 23rd, 2014, 8:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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retired jerry
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Re: 3 Sisters area, Little Brother, Yapoah Crater & more 081

Post by retired jerry » August 23rd, 2014, 8:11 am

I have that geo-graphics map also - nice map

I think those are climbing routes that are showed on the map. You might encounter places that require climbing skills. Useful info.

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