Andrew and I were fortunately able to swing a 10 day vacation here at the end of the season, with only 4 days left in Zigzag and 5 days left at the MAC. We only actually took 3 vacation days, but we strung together a 3 day weekend with a 4 day weekend. We started our weekend climbing at the Sisters Boulders on Friday. There we ripped our fingers up for an evening and a morning. We hit Pole Creek Trail toward the Three Sisters at around 4:00 pm on Saturday. The weather was pleasant and clear. South Sister showed herself in unsurpassed splendor, towering above the snowy lakes, shimmering in the soft moonlight, shadows defining her every ridge and valley, and juxtaposed brilliantly against the dark, starry night sky. The following day broke with a magnificent sunrise of red and orange that danced on the waves of Camp Lake. The sun quickly retreated further upward into the clouds that hovered over the Sisters. We soon set off up a great hill snow covered hill, snowboard in hand. Here I stepped foot into a snowboard for the first time. After a few runs, we went back to a mellow "snow-bowl" next to our camp, where we made a little ramp. The day ended with a hike back down the trail. We set camp next to Pole Creek. The following morning, around 6:30 am, we awoke in a muddy puddle. My Carhartts, which were between my tarp and sleeping pad were
fully saturated, along with the bottom of my sleeping pad. I got off easy, though. Andrews closed-cell pad was not above the water, and his sleeping bag had taken on a great deal of water. And so we emerged into the cold, rainy, pre-dawn morning to pack our dripping gear up and get the F#&@ out. By the time we reached the car, at around 8:30 am, the temperature read 46 degrees. The remainder of the day was spent cleaning up gear and clothing at the laundromat, and bumming around the Redmond library.
