It was truly a bluebird day– rare this summer with all of the fire activity surrounding Central Oregon.  Lots of Indian paintbrush — stunning against the black lava rocks.  The mountain was virtually empty of people at 6:30 a.m. First part going up felt like we were walking up a chairlift channel.  Once we hit the steeper remaining 1.5ish miles, the trail wove through the rough and tumble lava rocks and our pace slowed down but the hike was more enjoyable.  We LOVED the “promenade”… the wide final quarter mile trail up to the summit bedecked with prayer flags.  We got a lovely view of South Sister (our next peak!) to the North and the Green Lakes Basin.  Going counterclockwise down once we hit the loop below the lava, the trail felt like a real trail– in the woods, minimal ski runs or lifts and lots of wildflowers.  What a shock to hear the high pitched buzz of the zip line as several people zipped over us down to their landing pad as we neared the end of the hike.  I have to say that because this is a developed ski resort, I was not particularly looking forward to the hike but it surprised me — I loved the upper third and the relaxing non-windy time at the summit was absolutely lovely.