Climbing Young Charity (South Sister, Oregon)

Representing all of us crazy seahawk fans at 10,000 feet!!

South Sister is a behemoth of a mountain. It is the third tallest mountain in Oregon and also has the largest glacier in Oregon, the Prouty Glacier. It also claims the highest lake in Oregon, Teardrop pool, which is just below the summit. Presiding at 10,358 ft this massive cascade volcano is actually pretty tame when it comes to peak bagging. That's just what we imagined doing, peak bagging South Sister!!
Eastern Oregon is beautiful and vast with South Sister along with North and Middle Sister being a prominent feature. South Sister is the youngest of the three volcanoes. Early settlers name the three peaks from N to S Faith,Hope and Charity. Its a perfect mountain as it's non-technical, moderately strenuous and is high in elevation. Its mountaineering at its easiest, not that it's easy but just one of the easiest high mountains to summit while being superbly enjoyable!!
We weren't the only ones attracted to the mountain. It was a typical sunny summer day with droves of hikers and backpackers climbing the mountain.

Lake Moraine, near our campsite

We arrived early evening at the trail head and backpacked up to Lake Moraine. Most campsites at Lake Moraine have South Sister in full view thanks to the dry open volcanic forest lands of Eastern Oregon.Campsites were numerous but almost all taken. Make sure to pack your headlamp. Once darkness sets in grab your headlamp and head to the lake to experience a horde of salamanders in the shallow waters along the shoreline. I have never seen so many salamanders before, too many to count.
Night crept on. Soon enough we unzipped our warm air filled sleeping bags to tackle our goal. With headlamps wrapped around our  beanies we were suddenly lighting the trail into the wee hours before sunrise. Which is the best time to hike, predawn!! 

From the lake trail to the summit trail conditions go from easy to mild rock scrambling to loose scree. Your hiking boots are guaranteed to get dirty. Tighten those laces up as small pumice and lava rock will try to make their way into your boots.
With no rocks or plenty of rocks in your shoes either way the summit views are worth it. To the north Middle and North Sister were prominent with Mt Washington , Three Fingered Jack and Mt Jefferson in the far distance. To the south Broken Top and Mt Bachelor were prominent with Diamond Peak and Mt Thielsen in far view. The summit has a huge crater in the middle filled with snow. We walked across is to access the true summit. The crater is very wide and the snow makes it relatively flat. I now want to go back play a game of flag football or ultimate Frisbee 10,000 up on the compact snow!! 

Looking north at Middle and North Sister from the summit of South Sister

There's plenty of room on the summit for lunch. Make sure to relax for lunch then explore the whole crater area 
At the summit we weren't alone. There was a group of young families who were entering the Mazama Club. They made it to the top with their elementary kids!! Therefore if kids can conquer South Sister so can you!! You wont regret it!

Glimpses of South Sister

Summer blooms

Looking back to where we started, with Mt Bachelor on the left

The summit block and 

South Sister's summit crater