One of Central Oregon's more popular summer hikes in the Three Sisters Wilderness, we decided to hike Tam McArthur Rim 11-27-21 a few days after the first snow of autumn had fallen. Three Creeks Lake had icy sections and only one other couple started the hike just a few minutes before us.
We began our hike utilizing microspikes as the trail was icy and the added gripping security microspikes offer enabled us to quickly climb the initial miles of the hike. The snow deepened as we climbed and the trail became less obvious. However, we were able to follow the tracks of the couple who started the hike just before us, trusting that they knew where they were going.
The hike to Tam McArthur Rim levels out near the summit into an open meadow. On this hike the end of November, we found the wind really picked up here. The final push to the summit was through shin deep snow and while accomplishing the destination of the hike, the cloud cover dropped and our views of the Three Sisters and Broken Top were obscured. We had hoped to take the "unofficial" trail from the Rim to Broken Hand to add additional distance and views to our hike, but with the cloud cover so low and fearful that it would start snowing again, and with no tracks to follow, we returned the way we came. On the way down we passed a few hiking parties coming up.
All in all, it was a fairly quick hike with a total of 5.3 miles in and back and 1246 feet of elevation gain. We hope to take more of these types of hikes, weather permitting, as we enter winter.
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Original blog can be read at Bend Premier Real Estate's blog page.
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