Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

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cunningkeith
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Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

Post by cunningkeith » November 5th, 2012, 11:38 am

I just finished a great three-day trip around Three Sisters. The trip had snow, rain, and sun, and I found a memorial tablet along the way.

I had originally planned to do the full loop around the Three Sisters. Although I’ve done this in two nights before, the lack of daylight this time of year and small amounts of snow made this a bad plan (not to mention I later learned that the Scott Pass Trail is still closed, so I would have been crossing a trail closure too, which is a no-no). So a less ambitious plan prevailed, and I’m glad it did. The trip left from Lava Lake Camp, to Matthieu Lakes, to Obsidian where I established camp for two nights. I then day-hiked to Linton Meadows and the Eileen Lake Loop. On the third day (the sunniest) I hiked out, with a side trip to Arrow Lake (highly recommended). The whole trip was about 33 miles; with 7000 feet elevation gain. Everything around this area feels like it will be under deep snow pretty soon.


Middle Sister from Arrow Lake
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Hiking in to South Mathieu Lake. About 1 inch of snow on the ground
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Same view as previous picture only looking south toward North Sister
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Deeper snow approaching Opie Dilldock pass
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North Sister and Little Brother
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Out-of-date trail re-route sign (you can take the PCT all the way through the wilderness now)
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Crypt and tablet for “Harley H. Prouty A Lover of the Mountains.” The story of this memorial is described in “Mazama: A Record of Mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest, Volume 5, Issue 2.” Apparently Harley Prouty was the first to summit North Sister. A team of Mazamas later placed this memorial in the wilderness for him. I have been by this rock at least three times, but this was the first time I noticed it. Quite a lovely place for a memorial.
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The view from Harley Prouty’s tablet
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South Sister from Husband Lake
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North Sister from Arrow Lake
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retired jerry
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Re: Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

Post by retired jerry » November 5th, 2012, 12:11 pm

Great to see people getting up there, not scared off just because there's a dusting of snow and the calendar says November:)

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kelkev
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Re: Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

Post by kelkev » November 5th, 2012, 4:43 pm

Awesome photos. I'm jealous! Been fighting a dandy cold, not the way I wanted to welcome November. Rather be hiking where you've been!

Kevin
"Going to the mountains is going home."
— John Muir

ebishop
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Re: Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

Post by ebishop » November 6th, 2012, 3:24 pm

Wow. Having made my first trip there this summer, it's fascinating to see the transformation with the season. Did you get a look at any of the burn area?

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cunningkeith
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Re: Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

Post by cunningkeith » November 7th, 2012, 10:48 am

retired jerry wrote:Great to see people getting up there, not scared off just because there's a dusting of snow and the calendar says November:)
kelkev wrote:Awesome photos. I'm jealous! Been fighting a dandy cold, not the way I wanted to welcome November. Rather be hiking where you've been! Kevin
I felt pretty lucky being able to sneak in there this late in the game. I guess it's called "stretching the hiking season." To think that this area won't be snow-free again until July-ish, that's 8 months! A little depressing. Oh well, on with the snow shoes.

ebishop wrote:Wow. Having made my first trip there this summer, it's fascinating to see the transformation with the season. Did you get a look at any of the burn area?
No, I didn't make it around to the burn area. The Scott Pass trail would have taken me through it, but it was roped off. The FS site says the area is still smoldering. I don't know anything about fires, but that seems hard to believe. From my quick read of the fire map, it looks like Park Meadow was spared, which is great. But the approaches from FS 16 heading west in to the wilderness all look like you'll be hiking through several miles of burn before getting to the more alpine destinations. For example, the hike up to Chambers Lake from FS 16 will probably be burn area, but then Chambers Lake itself should be good (makes sense, since there are no trees there! (or at least that's what I've read)).

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zepboy
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Re: Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

Post by zepboy » November 7th, 2012, 10:28 pm

Thanks for the trip report. You certainly gave me a lot of new ideas for exploration.

Is there a marked or a boot trail to Arrowhead Lake? Last year I attempted to go there, turned onto the Glacier Way trail, but gave up after a mile or so as the sun was getting low. Is that the correct way to get to Arrowhead?

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cunningkeith
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Re: Three Sisters, Obsidian Area, 11/2-11/4

Post by cunningkeith » November 9th, 2012, 9:40 am

I just saw they closed Hwy 242 (Mckenzie Hwy). That was fast. I wonder what they do about cars that are parked at trailheads when they close it? Maybe leave a note on the windshield "See you next spring."
zepboy wrote:Thanks for the trip report. You certainly gave me a lot of new ideas for exploration.

Is there a marked or a boot trail to Arrowhead Lake? Last year I attempted to go there, turned onto the Glacier Way trail, but gave up after a mile or so as the sun was getting low. Is that the correct way to get to Arrowhead?
There is no marked trail. The boot trail I found was pretty easy to follow for 80% of the time. The Green Trails map has Arrowhead Lake pretty well marked. I approached it from the south and exited it going north. From the south, I hiked the PCT to above Obsidian Falls, and the hiked southeast (no boot trail, just GPS and map reading). Pretty much just follow the contour lines along their widest spacing. After hiking southeast you get above the lake around 7,000 feet and then hike northwest and you're there. Along this approach I did find a boot trail and followed it, but it appeared to be heading up, up, up above 7,000 feet, so maybe it was a climbers' route. There are no trees up there, so the x-country is super-easy (assuming good conditions, of course).

Going out, I did find a boot trail leaving the lake. It goes due east from the lake, then north, then west, eventually meeting up with the PCT. I'm pretty sure the intersection of the boot trail with the PCT is at Glacier Creek, which is just north of the intersection of Obsidian Tr and the PCT. If you were approaching the lake from the intersection, I'd say you'd be able to use the boot trail for 80% of the time, but you'd still need some map and/or GPS skills to get there. Maybe if you were patient and willing to backtrack when you lost the boot trail, you'd be able to re-find it and follow it the whole way. Good luck!

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