gnuhr

Distance: 12.4 miles (round-trip)
Elevation Gain: 5,036 feet
Average Time: 6 to 9 hours
Difficulty: Very Difficult / Strenuous

The Three Sisters Wilderness area covers 286,708 total acres. There are approximately 260 miles of trail within the wilderness. The Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail traverses the wilderness for 40 miles. Most trails entering the wilderness begin in dense forests of Douglas-fir on the western slopes of the Cascades and ponderosa pine on the eastern slopes.

Major peaks are: the North, Middle, and South Sisters (all above 10,000'), along with Broken Top, the best example in the Pacific Northwest of the effect of glaciation. Collier Glacier is the largest glacier in Oregon. Other geologic features include Rock Mesa, Collier Cone, and Yapoah Crater. Alpine meadows, waterfalls, lava fields, glaciers, and glacial lakes are abundant. Fish populations include brook and rainbow trout.

Forest in this Wilderness consists mainly of Douglas-fir, silver fir, sub-alpine fir, mountain hemlock, western hemlock, true fir, lodgepole pine, and ponderosa pine. Alpine meadows are abundant.

Find out more about the Three Sisters wilderness area here.

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• gnuhr heatwave puffer jacket v1.5

• gnuhr creeper crew merino

• gnuhr warp short short

• gnuhr warp kit rest

• gnuhr sling 1 v2.0 dcf

• gnuhr sling 2 v2.0 dcf

• gnuhr breaker wind shirt v1.5

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Pack:

• Pack: gnuhr prototype

• Pack Liner: Z-packs

• Tent: Z-packs Altaplex

• Quilt: Enlightened Equipment Enigma

• Pad: Therm-a-rest Neoair Uberlite

• Foam pad: Field Records sleep mat

• Pillow: Sea to Summit

• Sleeping bag liner: Coccoon Silk Liner

• Pump: flextail zero

• Trekking Poles: Gossamer Gear

Cook kit:

• Food bag: Allmansright

• Stove/Pot: Jetboil MicroMo

• Isobutane Gas Canister

• gnuhr mini bic Lighter

Poop kit:

• Bidet: Igneous Bottle Cap Bidet

• Trowel: TentLab DirtSaw Deuce #2

• Hand Sanitizer

First Aid Kit:

• Leukotape

• bandage

• gauze pad

• antiseptic wipes

• ibuprofen

gnuhr Sling 1:

• Phone: iPhone 14

• Camera: Ricoh GR4

• Battery bank: Nitcore NB 10000

• Flashlight: RovyVon Aurora A8

• Toothbrush and toothpaste

• Notebook: small soft cover

• Pen: CW&T Pen Type-C

• Pocket knife: folding scalpel

• Vargo Pocket Cleats VTRAC

• Bug repellent

• Towel: Montbell

Worn:

• Baselayer: gnuhr Creeper Hood

• Gaiter: gnuhr tryptagaiter

• Shorts: gnuhr Explora Short

• Underwear: ExOfficio

• Socks: Darn Tough T3006

• Shoes: Gnorda 001

• Cap: gnuhr gno cap

Packed clothes:

• Rainshell: Yamatomichi All Weather Jacket

• Wind Pants: gnuhr breaker wind pants

• Puffer: gnuhr Heatwave Jacket

• Fleece: gnuhr Shag Hoodie

• Sleep shirt: Creeper Crew Merino

• Sleep Socks: Darn Tough T3006

• Camp Sandals: gnuhr footprint camp sandal

"For magnificence of glacial scenery, for wealth of recent lavas, and for graphic examples of dissected volcanoes, no part of this range surpasses the area embracing the Sisters and McKenzie Pass." - Volcanologist Howel Williams, 1944

The three aligned stratovolcanoes of North, Middle, and South Sister are closely spaced, but they display very little family resemblance. North Sister is solely composed of basalt to andesite and is at least 120,000 years old. Middle Sister was built between 40 and 14 ka of magma ranging from basalt to dacite, with minor high-silica rhyolite. South Sister, composed of andesite to rhyolite, is the most silicic of all the cones and was constructed between 50 and 2 ka. The most recent eruptions were of rhyolite near South Sister, about 2,000 years ago. Scientific and public interest in the Three Sisters volcanic cluster was heightened in 2001 when scientists recognized that a phase of uplift had started in 1997 within a broad area about 6 km west of South Sister.

The Three Sisters lie within a broad area of densely spaced volcanic vents that, in the Cascades, is duplicated only in southern Washington and Northern California. The Sisters reach of the Cascade arc contains at least 466 volcanoes that erupted within the past one million years, and most are small single-eruption volcanic vents, though there are a few are low shields and stratocones such as Broken Top.

Find more information at the USGS site here.

Full map here.