South Sister was by far the most challenging hike I have yet to encounter.

My friend and I arrived at the trailhead at 0700, took our time up the steep hike to the meadows. We enjoyed the beautiful views of South Sister, Broken Top and the overwhelmingly stunning hue of the rolling hills and buttes all across central oregon. The trail was well maintained until we got to the rock and steel incline where the summiting begins. That was not marked and not easy to scramble across. It was a challenging hike up and down and poles were very, very useful. We got to a lake before the hike up the red mile that led to the summit and that was the best part!! Beautiful places to rest and recover. Amazing views, and definitely something to be proud to have accomplished.