Originally we had planned to rent a yurt at Tumalo state park near Bend and have a bunch of boys overnight camp with us, but as with most things it was disrupted by COVID-19. The Yurt was cancelled due to not enough staff to satisfy cleaning requirements so we chose to take a smaller group on an overnight backpacking trip! I chose a trip to an area near the mountain 3-finger Jack. It would be an 8 mile loop with about half the mileage each day, give or take but more uphill on the first day and mostly downhill on the second day.
Here is the group getting ready, doing gear checks and loading up at our house.
It took about 1:45 hours to get to Jack lack trailhead up in the high country above Sisters. Here is the excited crew as we get started and through the first few miles as we approach the mountain.
The next phase was to climb above tree line and crest the west saddle, and then drop off trail down the other side of the saddle. As we got on the slopes of the mountain the terrain changes, and got a lot more steep!
Fun Glissading down the snow slop on the south side of the saddle
We set up camp in an amazing remote alpine setting. Complete with towering cliffs and bubbling stream. I cooked a cake on a backpacking stove to celebrate Noah's birthday.
We saw a heard of goats, had a campfire and tree lights to celebrate before going to bed. While the sky's threatened a storm, we didn't have more than a few drop of rain.
The next morning rose glorious and sunny.
We then hiked cross country for 1-2 miles through some really pretty country until we hooked up with a main trail to finish out a couple of hours back to the main trailhead.
A great overnight adventure to celebrate Noah turning 13!