North Sister

12 miles of hiking • 4750' elevation gain • 1 night

Fun time on North Sister. Team RamRod/Pickett didn't summit due to being too late in the day / softening snow.

Left PDX in two vehicles on Friday evening. Dindin in Sisters, then camped just off the road about 3 miles from the TH. Paul found us an absolutely fantastic spot to cowboy under the Ponderosas. For only 4 hours of sleep, the night was memorable: Clear-sky stars above and endless sublimity distilled from the breeze, steadily exhaled from The Void of darkness on a silent summer night.

Started 40 minutes later (@3:20am) than planned due to percolating coffee pot (was sort-of worth it - I was buzzing for the first 2hrs!), and general slowness of packing up. Went perhaps an hour slower to the top of SE Ridge, then got a bit slowed behind a Mazamas group of 10, too. Though, they let us prussic along a fixed line they set and get in front of them, so, appreciated that. I am sure Mazamas have successfully brought 10 folks to the summit of North before, but, it strikes me as self-deceitfully or stupidly naive to bring 10 people, 7 of which appeared to be shaky even on a fixed line, like they've only done 1 other climb, to try to climb one of the more difficult volcanoes in the Cascades. I mean, for real? We had 5 and that seemed huge--it was! 2-3 is probably ideal. /end Mazama Rant

Turned back at start of normal traverse, after having done one snow traverse. Way more snow for nearing end of July than when I successfully climbed it July 10th of 2009.

Key would have been to leave Pole Creek TH at 1am and move a bit faster on SE ridge, and, possibly, have less people so doing running pro would be quicker.

But an absolutely wonderful time with a bunch of great friends, thrilled to get out. Lots of wonderful farting. Lots of jokes. But, more than anything else, lots of choss and a mountain held together by dikes of slightly more solid andesite. Great to drink up from one of the snow-field tributaries once we got lower.

Side note, I migrated to compression shorts to mitigate swamp ass chafe sometime this winter. Seemed to do the job very well then. Now that it is summer, seems the chafe returns with a vengeance. Anyone confirm or give feedback--I feel like the compression shorts are keeping sweat congregated and the low humidity summer warmth is leading to many dry/wet cycles = Chafe. Maybe in winter = stays wet = okay/better? I have what basically is an 'extra large' thing of chapstick for the cheeks, butt (haha), it can be a bit messy and I'm not sure it really solves it that much, just a treatment, not a solution. Next summer trip I will go back to patagucci boxers and see what comes of it. If you read this last paragraph and didn't wish to read it, don't re-read it again, its got TMI.

Additional note: I ate a McDonalds Sausage Biscuit that I purchased 7 days prior, in Portland, and took up Mt. Adams last weekend but did not eat. It was refrigerated during the week, of course. Of all topics that day, which spanned the gamut of testosterone's fecundity for baseness, this action garnered the most disgust. But, no ill effects. Them biscuits are still a mountain food winner in my book!

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