Three of us left Portland early Friday morning and met up with the others at the trailhead. The first big surprise was pulling over in Bend to get directions and running into Jane who was joining us on our trip. We were able to follow her, thankfully.
We got on the trail just before noon. The sun was full, the sky was central Oregon blue, the mood was light. Though we were eager to reach our destination we were all fine with taking our time to enjoy the trail. Four of us had to get used to carrying our heavy packs for the first time this year.
Setting up camp took no time at all. Relaxing was the next order of business and that's what we did. There's nothing better than being in a beautiful place without a single responsibility. South Sister watched vigilantly from the east and Broken Top spread her eagle wings to the west. Don't quote me on those directions, but you get the point. We were sandwiched between two elegant and regal peaks. Looking north were Green Lakes and yes, they look green.
During the night the moon rose over Broken Top and cast a deep blue light over our campsite. The sky was packed full of stars.
On day two we dayhiked to Moraine Lake, an eight mile trek. It was a hot day and the sun was strong. We lunched at Moraine Lake and just enjoyed being out on a beautiful day. A dip in Fall Creek put the final touches on a delightful dayhike.
More relaxation was in order after our dayhike to Moraine Lake. Jodi was the first to put her thermarest on the ground outside. Pretty soon all of us were lounging together under the warm sun with a cool breeze going over the events of the day.
Dinner was the next order of business. Mary had the best of savory smells coming from her cookpot. Linda had an eclectic assortment of items she threw together to get her through the weekend. Jane hauled a gallon of soup. Well, not really a gallon, but I bet it felt like that in her pack. Jodi had pre-cooked food from home that she heated in her new cookware using her new camp stove. She shared a cupful with Jane in an effort to put more meat on Jane. I stuck with my usual, Mary Jane's Organics, and had good dinners by merely adding water and waiting a few minutes.
We were up early on Sunday to hike the seven miles out. The weather was cool and partly cloudy. Our views were awesome. A few deer watched us from the woods as we passed through. We stopped for an 'official' break and had a snack and took a rest, plopping our heavy packs beside us. The sun was warming and the clouds were leaving. Our trip was ending soon. It's hard to leave such a beautiful place and go back to the responsibilities of day to day. We have all agreed to make it an annual trip. Linda has come up with five different routes we can do in that area alone. Maybe we need to plan two trips a year. Now that's more like it!
