AQI in Bend was Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups but by the time we got up the Cascade Lakes Highway we were leaving the smoke behind. We parked on the side of the highway by the (closed) gate that leads to the Sunrise Lodge Parking area. There were only 2 other cars parked when we started at about 7:30.  From the Sunrise Lift, we opted to take the dirt road that follows the marshmallow run until we reached the trail that breaks to the left into the trees right about at the exit of “Dilly Dally Alley”. From there, its a beautiful hike through the dense trees and the trail is only a moderate incline through this section. The trees start to thin as you reach the top of the marshmallow lift so this is  a good spot to take advantage of the shade and take a little break. From here the trail is primarily in the sun, starts to get rockier, and the switchbacks start. The trail is easy to follow, but there are a couple slightly ambiguous spots through the rocks, however, a series of white spray painted arrows on a variety of boulders make for helpful way points. The top of the Summit Lift will be on your left as you near the top and there will be a series of false summits, but once the trail levels off, don't go left or right, and instead, stay straight and you will be on the actual trail to the true summit. The final little climb up the summit mound will be marked by a series of posts linked by a rope and you will know you've reached the summit when you see the the metal pole sticking up out of the rocks. At the top we were able to see the smoke in the valleys between the southwestern hills from the Bedrock fire. It made for a very eerie and magnificent sight and we were glad to have clear air and blue sky's on the summit, which save for 1 other person, we had all to ourselves.

After some pictures and a snack we started back down the trail. Watch your footing coming down as some of the rocks make for a slightly technical descent in places and it would be easy to trip or twist and ankle. We were glad to get out of the lava rock and back into the shade and easy trail of the forested section. By this point(around 10:30) quite a few fellow hikers and trail runners were making their way up the mountain. When we got back to the car we were surprised how many other vehicles were now parked on the road. There was plenty of space, but we were glad to have stated when we did.

Overall this is a great hike. Challenging but very doable and great training for South Sister!