Hiking Around South Sister

We had the fabulous opportunity to do a new hike this weekend. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery was breathtaking.

We started out at the trailhead one would take to hike all the way to the summit of South Sister, but we weren't equipped to go all the way...just to Moraine Lake. South Sister happens to be the third highest mountain in the state of Oregon and it's the easiest to climb because there is no technical climbing involved. Just a steep hike to the top (10,000+ feet).

The first 1.5 miles were pretty steep and not very pretty except for this little mountain stream we passed.

But then we got to this clearing and it was so, so pretty. When I saw South Sister I was sad we weren't going all the way to the top. Another day. (hopefully before I'm 40).

And then we got to Moraine Lake. It was pretty, as you can see.

I really wanted to see more so I pressed the others to hike a little bit of the summit trail. I'm so glad we did because we got some great views of Brokentop Mountian with Moraine Lake in the forefront.

This is where we turned around...what a great view of South Sister.

This one's from my instagram account so it has some filters on it.

Seeing moss on trees isn't all that rare in these parts, but I really liked how the moss hung down the trunks of the trees in this forest. Again, this has some filters on it from instagram.