Boys will be Boys!!!

So this past weekend I left Jaime at home and headed down to Sisters, Oregon with brother Ryan. I figured before he has his second daughter and finds himself with more important responsibilities, I better get one last weekend of (slight) debauchery in for him. Really, we just wanted to visit Dave and Regan and have a few beers at the Deschutes brewery. The weekend was a grand success. We arrived in Sisters Friday night after a 6 hour drive, met up with Dave and Regan (and daughter Colby) and had a nice dinner at Three Creeks brewing. This was followed by several games of poker back at Dave and Regs. The next morning, moving at a leisurely pace, we first made our way up to Three Creeks lake in the Sportwagen. After a hike around the lake, we headed back to meet up with Dave and after some impromptu irrigation work, we headed out for a hike on Tumalo mountain.

(The view of Three Creeks lake and the surrounding mountains)

The web page that I found the hike on had said that it was a 1.5 mile hike with a 1200' elevation gain, and that it was rated moderate to difficult. Doesn't sound too bad...
However - the start of the hike was at 6500', and it ended up being more like 2-2.5 miles, in loose sand (think of walking on the beach, except at a steep incline). Dave, the resident of Sisters at 3000' quickly took the lead. Ryan kept up. About halfway through, I was breathing heavily through my mouth, and fell back a bit. Everytime I thought I could see the top of the ridge, I'd round a corner, or come out of the trees and be sorely disappointed. That and whoever designed the trail apparently thought switchbacks are overrated. We go straight up, or we don't go up at all!

But I am no quitter! I managed to (mostly) keep pace, and we made it to the top. With a few minutes of catching my breath, now over 7700' above sea level, I had time to take in the view. Any lingering fatigue that I might have been feeling was quickly gone from my mind. We had a 360 degree view of the Central Oregon Cascades - Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top, and Three Sisters. To the east was the flat lands and lava fields that comprise the geology of Eastern Oregon. It was simply stunning!

(South Sister, Middle Sister, and Broken Top; North Sister barely visible behind Middle Sister)

(Dave and Ryan toast a successful ascent)

After our descent, our reward for the evening was dinner/drinks at the Deschutes brewhouse in downtown Bend. I don't think a cheeseburger and a cold beer have EVER tasted so good! Another night of poker and good conversation followed. Waking Sunday morning, we packed our bags, hopped in the car, stopped for a quick breakfast, and were on our way back to Seattle via Santium pass (the Sportwagen is an awesome road trip car, btw!)

MAJOR thanks to Dave and Regan for hosting us! We had an awesome time! Hopefully we can come back soon. I know Jaime wants to visit!