Broken Top Loop Day 1

Jul 16

Tam McArthur Trailhead to Green Lakes

As all trips do, this one started with an idea, and some planning. I wanted to challenge my current fitness level, and see new sights that I hadn’t seen before. After crowdsourcing some ideas, my general goal led me to Central Oregon near the three Sisters and Broken Top.

A drafted a sketch of a tentative trip using Gaia GPS to get a general idea of mileage and elevation. By coincidence, some friends from the Mazamas would be doing a climb of Broken Top and South Sister that same week, and we thought of the possibility of meeting up at Green Lakes.

The final drafted plan was to hike clockwise around Broken Top, starting at Tam McArthur trailhead with a bonus overnight at the summit of South Sister. My secondary goal was to capture the NEOWISE comet making an appearance on the Northern skies, while camping at the summit of South Sister.

In the morning of July 16, 2020, I drove to Tam McArthur trailhead and set off on the adventure.

The trail starter off with a quick incline steadily increasing in elevation towards No Name Lake. The quick elevation provided a vantage view point of Three Creek Lake, and soon I would be hiking on unmaintained trail. Although the path was easy to follow, I still needed to refer back to the map to ensure I was on the right path.

Trudging uphill, I passed Broken Hand on the ridge that connects Broken Top with McArthur Rim. I met some friendly folks, and connected with them to share photos afterwards. Soon after, I arrived at No Name Lake - which was still snowed in. A good rest spot for a relaxing lunch and rest with gorgeous views of Broken Top, imposing and colorful cliff-sides, and surrounding mountains. Middle Sister, North Sister, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson, and Mount Hood all made an appearance this day.

Just as I was about to go on my way, I met a fellow hiker also on his first time around these trails. He was on a longer adventure of his own - road tripping all the way from New York to get away from the crowds and clear his mind amidst COVID. We chatted for a bit, shared contact, and off I went on my way. We ended up passing each other a few times in the next hour, both took the SME wrong turn, found our way back to the trail, and decided hiked together until our next junction.

After we parted ways, I still had a few more miles until reaching Green Lakes. I continued around Broken Top with as fast a pace as I could maintain without fatiguing myself. Just before nightfall I was able to reach Green Lakes.

I looked through the nearby campsites in a search of the Mazamas party of climbers.

To my surprise, I was able to find friendly faces very quickly. The team of Mazamas climbers had just finished their Broken Top climb a few hours ago, and had a nice site staked out. I was able to fit my one-person tent in their company and join in for a friendly chat. After dinner and water refills, I was ready for bed - a long day awaited the next morning.

I would be summiting South Sister via Devil's Lake. The group of Mazamas would also be summiting South Sister, but they would do so via the Green Lakes route.