The Three Sisters Marathon plus two by Pat Credican

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THE THREE SISTERS MARATHON PLUS TWO
A one day climb of five peaks in the Three Sisters Wilderness by Pat Creedican

THE THREE SISTERS MARATHON PLUS TWO
Pat Creedican
August 25, 2001

“THE THREE SISTERS MARATHON: Climbers have developed an unusual form of torture called the Three Sisters Marathon. The goal is to try and reach the summits of at least North Sister, Middle Sister, and South Sister in one twenty-four hour period. - - - The game continues, but the ante has been steadily raised. - - - The most recent record is a six-peak Marathon, which includes Mt. Bachelor. This was first accomplished in 24 hours by Dale Moon and Ben Ross on July 18, 1970 with the aid of a car from the Broken Top road head to Mt. Bachelor (Kenyon 1970).” from Oregon High, A Climbing Guide by Jeff Thomas, Keep Climbing Press, 1991, pp.88, 89.

For some of us who have read the article about the Three Sisters Marathon in Jeff Thomas’ “Oregon High” there is a fascination that anyone can climb all three in one day.

“What does it take to be able to do that?” I used to wonder. The first I had heard of such a feat was from a very muscular, fireplug of a man in a logging camp where I worked in 1970. He had climbed all three peaks in one day but then he was built like Superman’s little brother; mere humans couldn’t do such a thing, I figured.

A few years ago when Bob Sandberg, one of our Cascades Mountaineers Members, asked me to go on one of his Marathons, I was amazed to meet a mere human who had actually accomplished the Marathon many times and thrilled to have a chance to learn from him.

Bob has a tremendously positive attitude and what I had anticipated to be a long, hard chore turned out to be a fun. From all of the time he had spent on the Three Sister’s Marathon, Bob knew the gear, the route, the watering holes, the pace and the positive attitude needed to not just struggle through but to enjoy the adventure. We did our first joint Marathon in 1998.

The next year our plans to do it again were changed when Bob got hurt on Mt. Adams. I made two more Marathons, one mostly solo after climbing North Sister with friends and a second trip with my 19-year-old son. Bob had climbed four in one day a few years previously and walked out to Green Lakes trailhead. That got me to thinking that maybe I could do that, too. The more I thought about it, the more logical it seemed that once the first four were climbed it wasn’t a lot more effort to walk out to the car at Mount Bachelor instead of Green Lakes trail head and drag oneself up Mt. Bachelor. It took a year of thinking about it to build the determination to try for the five big peaks in one trip.

My first plan was to climb six peaks, starting from a bivouac at Sunshine Camp, leaving at midnight to climb Little Brother and then the other five peaks. Things went mostly according to plan until the peak of Little Brother, but by then the moon was down, clouds came in and it was difficult to find the route in the dark and fog. I contemplated changing routes to walk up the Collier snowfield instead of a westerly ridge of North Sister. I hadn’t gone more than 50 yards onto the snowfield when I encountered a crevasse where there should not have been any. It seemed like a good idea to retreat from that plan and walk down around the toe of the glacier. I crossed the toe on a boulder field to the foot of North Sister.

With all the rocks I heard rolling off of North and not knowing just where I was, it was time to hunker down under a rock in rain gear and wait for daylight. One can actually get comfortable on a pile of rocks so I did get some sleep. Daylight helped a little but the rain storm and fog caused a severe lack of visibility and it was likely the rain was turning to ice up high; these aren’t conducive to the speed needed for this event and the margin of safety was much too thin. The trip out to the McKenzie Highway was scenic.

Attempt # 2 began at Pole Creek with the strategy being to try for only the Big 5. That day weather was near perfect but crossing the “terrible traverse” of North Sister took longer than expected and was quite nerve wracking. There was no snow on the traverse, exposing the steep, loose dinner-plate shale, which looked very unstable and more risky than the snow. By the top of South Sister I was behind schedule and much more tired than I had expected. The weight in my pack was taking quite a toll. The trip out to Devils’ Lake was scenic.

That was to be the end of the attempts for this summer; I was tired of thinking about this project. The thought would not go away, however. Conditions on the mountains were perfect. The lack of snow made crampons and ice axe unnecessary yet there was plenty of water available; conditions may not be this good again for decades. Having made these last two “test” runs I knew a great deal about what to expect, what gear not to take and most importantly, about the amounts of food and hydration needed. Carolyn, my loving and supportive wife, tried to understand my obsession and she encouraged me when I decided to try once more. She got up at midnight to fix me a big breakfast and drove me, along with my 10-year-old daughter Sarah, to the Pole Creek trailhead at 3:30 am.

Once again the weather was near perfect. Hiking the trail alone in the dark had its own special flavor. “Are cougars fond of lone hikers with headlamps?” I wondered. About 4 miles in I was changing batteries in my headlamp when I hear a low growl. My heart picked up the pace a little bit. Another low growl and my heart was really racing as I grabbed for a ski pole and listened for footsteps. It was quite a surprise and relief to see another headlamp. Apparently someone camped about 40 feet off the trail had unzipped their tent to see what sort of animal was rooting around outside. I hoped that was the biggest thrill I would have this trip.

The “terrible traverse” of North Sister proved easier this time as there was a trail beaten across it by now so one could distinguish areas of relative stability. Hydration and nutrition were the key on this trip. I kept notes of how much and when I drank, ate and un-hydrated. On previous trips I always had a problem with stomach cramps on the third mountain, even though I thought I ate and drank enough. This time I ate and drank significantly more than previous trips. Need for water could be judged from a combination of the frequency of urination (more than a couple hours without and it was time for 10 or 20 ounces of water) and a dry throat. Sipping water hadn’t worked before so this time I drank 10 or 20 ounces at a time, measured by the size of my water bottle. Whenever I felt the slightest stomach discomfort, it was time for a drink and a fig bar or two, which also provided rest for a few minutes.

Water was plentiful on the way. Using an iodine bottle is effective and lightweight and a little powdered Gatorade, after the iodine has done its magic, makes it taste OK. I just had to be sure to fill water bottles while there was still drinking water remaining since it takes the iodine an hour to work.

Middle and South sisters went well. Walking around the snowfields going down Middle added to time but saved the weight of an ice axe that would be needed at only this one place. Met a man from Bend named Kendall who was doing the Three Sisters as we were both starting up South Sister. We traded stories and stayed together until about half way up when it was apparent he was a stronger hiker and went on ahead. It was pleasant to have some company for a while.

Descending south on an untried route proved to be a real time loser. The route to the east from the summit looked obvious on the map but was not obvious on the ground. Consequently, a lot of time was used descending a steep, unstable slope and walking on the edge of Lewis glacier. It would probably have been faster to use the established trail to Green Lakes. The delay put me at the summit of Broken Top at dark, which caused more delay because instead of descending on scree in 15 minutes, it was necessary to go back down the trail in about an hour. Also, there is a cross-country route that saves time, miles and elevation from the base of Broken Top to the Todd Lake/Green Lakes trail. In the dark that was not advisable since you can’t see the cliffs until you are right on top of them. That caused me to decide to descend by trail to Green Lakes and pick up the main tail there.

Once on the trail it was time for a snooze or “bivouac”, to use the proper mountaineers lingo. The bivouac consisted of putting all clothes on, including rain gear to keep in the heat and keep out the wind and dirt, and laying on the ground until cold. After 45 minutes it was time to move on. Hiking the trail was the most pleasant part of this trip; temperatures were just right, the trail was flat and unobstructed. Once on the Todd Lake road, I turned off my headlamp and trusted that there were no potholes to stumble in. Walking the Cascade Lakes Highway at 2:30 a.m. should have been quiet and relaxing. This night it was more like Jurassic Park. First came a low rumbling sound that could have been a big jet overhead; over the next minute or more it grew steadily into a roar that could have been a squadron of WW II airplanes on a strafing run; then a faint glow through the trees that could have been ET’s spaceship coming in for a landing; finally a big, jacked up four wheel drive with knobby tires roars by at about 70 MPH. Even though I work around highway traffic in my job, I never realized vehicles could be so noisy or frightening.

On arriving at Mt. Bachelor it was time for a rest and to shake the sand out of my socks for the 10th time. I felt good overall, no cramps or sore muscles, no overwhelming fatigue, just a general tiredness that was actually encouraging for this stage of the trip. Following the lift line up was simple enough but above that I was not able to determine which way to go other than up and I didn’t want to waste energy walking up moraines only to have to lose elevation on the other side. That was a good enough excuse, I decided, that I could feel justified resting against a rock until sunup in a half an hour. At 6:30 I arrived at the summit, 26 hours and 55 minutes after leaving Pole Creek. My wife and daughter were waiting for me in the parking lot at Sunrise Lodge, having served as both my sendoff and greeting parties.

Two more things I would like to mention before ending this Marathon length dissertation.

One is that I determined to use running shoes as much as possible, using hiking boots only when absolutely needed, due to steep descents or the steep cinder scree ascents. This proved to be very helpful as the light shoes saved tremendous energy as well as providing more stability on any rock or soil other than the slopes of small sized scree.

Most importantly, hiking this route alone is risky. If anything, even a minor leg injury, happens you are likely to be out overnight exposed at higher elevations. You are probably not going to save yourself. If you are traveling light as I was, you aren’t going to survive several nights of even moderately bad weather. Because of this I carried a cell phone that I knew could get a signal for this whole traverse, which is an analog phone. Digital phones don’t get signals in most of this area. Every few hours and just before and after the crux of any danger spot, I would check in with Bob Sandburg and sometimes my wife. Bob knows the route and had a map of my planned course. Also, since he is a good friend but could not be there in person, he was able to participate with me in spirit and share my concerns and triumphs along the way; if you can’t share the experience with someone on the trail, it is the next best thing.

This was the first time that I could find where someone had hiked all five big peaks on one continuous trip with out support. The only ones doing it before used a car for part of the trip. I did not have a particular goal of 24 hours. I did have a goal of finishing.

I hope that someone can use my experience to take up the challenge to beat 24 hours on these peaks. It can be done fairly easily and I would be glad to work with anyone wanting to attempt this challenge.
CLIMB ON! --Pat Creedican
Copyright© 2001 by Pat Creedican. All Rights Reserved.

Note: Carolyn Creedican asked me to emphasize that her husband has done the Marathon five times, twice learning with Bob Sandberg and twice with others for companionship at the crux: the dangerous summit of North Sister. He is very gifted, trains hard and is very smart and careful. He carried a cell phone. This is not an adventure to be taken lightly.
– Bob Speik