A challenge starting from January 1st running through the end of October… 6 peaks, major elevation, ending with South Sister. Of course, I had to say YES!
The Social Hiker started this challenge, and if you’re not in Central Oregon, don’t worry! They’ve got different challenges in tons of areas. Learn more in the Social Hiker website.
Below I’m sharing my journey this year with the Six Pack of Peaks Challenge. I’ll mention the trails that are in the challenge, the conditions when we decided to do them, what I liked and didn’t like, and all the things!
I’ll be writing in the order my friend and I did them in, though this is the order they put them in for the challenge, to prepare you for summiting South Sister.
1. Sutton Mountain
2. Black Butte
3. Black Crater
4. Mt. Bachelor
5. Maiden Peak (Due to the Cedar Creek Fire, an alternate peak was added in case you couldn’t get to Maiden Peak. Which was the case for us.)
6. South Sister 🥳
7. Belknap Crater (ALTERNATE TO MAIDEN PEAK).
Sutton Mountain
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip
Elevation: 1,683 feet
Hike Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Moderate
Sutton Mountain… What I would consider almost Eastern Oregon. None the less a GEM. With 360 views at the “summit” you can see the painted hills all the way to the Cascade range and on a very clear day, Mt. Adams.
I loved this trail, it didn’t feel difficult and I love desert overlooks. A friend and I started around 7am and finished a little before 11am. When we got out of the car, the fog was thick, it was 30 degrees, and snow was dropping. We didn’t think we’d have any views, but we kept pushing hoping for the best. And to our advantage the fog cleared just enough by the time we got to the top and we were given some amazing views of the Painted Hills Unit below us!
Getting to this trail can be kind of tricky, Google and Apple Maps both take you close to where the turn off is, but not exact. When you’re within a mile or so from the “turn off”, start looking to the left for a small barbed wire fence, that’s your landmark!
All in all, Sutton Mountain was a 10/10 for me. I loved being above the Painted Hills Unit! I cannot wait to do this trail again. The cold was brutal towards the end of winter, I suggest fall or springtime to avoid heat and rattlesnakes!
Black Butte
Distance: 10.6 miles round trip from the bottom OR 4 miles from halfway up parking lot. We chose the full 10 miles.
Elevation: 3,389 feet
Hike Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Hard
Wow… I feel I could never have enough words for Black Butte. It’s one of those mountains I’ve stared at for SO long and the feeling of finally summiting and seeing the incredible views from the top, is something that can’t be beat.
The first 2.5 miles is relatively slow incline and didn’t feel too difficult, once you hit the parking lot halfway up it starts to get intense. Gaining nearly 1,600 feet in 2 miles. The parking lot has a restroom and some picnic tables, making a nice break area.
I was so glad we started early in the day and only crossed people on our way down. We had the whole summit to ourselves and it was amazing. We did this hike in the middle of May and we ran into about 3-4 feet of snow on the top.
I think out of all the hikes in this challenge, Black Butte is in my top two… You simply can’t beat it. 10/10 hike, would recommend for sure!
Mt. Bachelor
Distance: 8 miles round trip
Elevation: 2,766 feet
Hike Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Hard
Bachelor was brutal for me, I had a horrible head cold that had put me in bed for the prior two days, but I was determined to summit. I took some DayQuil, chugged some water, and got it done. Barely… And when I say barely, I mean crawling the last few switch backs.
I think something else that played a big role in making this hike really hard for me personally would be the rock scrambling towards the top. Decent sized boulders line the last mile up, and it feels like they never end. Tons of tiny little switch backs and boulders to top it off.
Though this hike was challenging for me for multiple reasons, the views were absolutely insane. The whole cascade mountain and lake range was visible. I will for sure come back to do this hike when I’m not dying lol.
Black Crater
Distance: 7.2 miles round trip
Elevation: 2,310 feet
Hike Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Moderate
Since we did these trails out of order from the challenge, Black Crater felt like a dream. It was a walk in the park, as some would say. I enjoyed the insane views of the sisters (pictured above) and ate a bagel sandwich up top. We started just as light was coming up and only ran into one other group.
Overall, the whole trail had a fun variety of scenery and we caught the end of wildflowers. When you get close to the summit, there’s a couple hundred feet of red cinder and it is so pretty with Mt. Washington in the background.
While I highly recommend this peak to anyone visiting or any outdoor enthusiast, it’s important to know that the McKenzie Scenic Highway (OR-242) is only open roughly 3 1/2 months out of the year. And when the road does open – bikers, hikers, and tourists alike flood the area. Bikers are permitted the whole land on 242 and they can sneak up on you around corners. Drive with care and keep an eye out.
South Sister
Distance: 12.2 miles round trip
Elevation: 5,692 feet
Hike Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Hard
If someone asked me to name a better feeling than standing on top of South Sister, I wouldn’t be able to. There’s no better feeling than standing on a mountain you’ve wanted to do for so long after a grueling 6 miles up.
This trail was physically challenging, around 5 miles in, everything starts to hurt. The last mile up is called the red mile and it is a killer. You keep looking up and it feels like you don’t get any closer to the false summit. Once we were passed that, the energy level picked back up. I would recommend this trail, but be prepared for weather changes, snow on trail, and have plenty of water.
This is supposed to be the big finisher of the challenge, but since we did everything out of order, we still had 1 peak left…
Belknap Crater
Distance: 7.4 miles round trip
Elevation: 1,874 feet
Hike Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Moderate
This trail was probably one of my favorites out of the whole year, it could potentially even trump Black Butte for me. Which is saying something!
It starts off in a cute section of forest, then goes to a small field of Lava (Lava rock is my favorite thing ever) before entering a huge lava field. Until you get close to the summit, you’ll be walking on lava rock. So be prepared! I think I rolled my ankles at least 4 times lol.
It gets sandy at the top and very exposed, it was super windy at the top. I highly recommend this trail during the summer months, it is on the McKenzie Scenic Highway, which means it’s only open a few months out of the year.
How I Feel Post Challenge
After completing all six peaks, I feel a mix of emotions – Happy, relieved, sad, proud…
Happy in the sense that I love being on mountains and these peaks brought so much joy throughout the whole process.
Relieved simply because I didn’t think I would have time to complete the challenge this year.
Sad… It comes and goes so fast, it seems like I was just starting the challenge. Thought a new one will be here before I know it!
Proud – I can’t believe I did it. I accomplished so many peaks on my bucket list. I was one of only 28 people to finish the challenge. I summited my first “10er”. I struggled on some, but none won me over.
To anyone who has a challenge in their area, that Social Hiker provides, sign up. Do it. It is challenging, but it is so much fun.
I can’t wait for next year…
Let’s Get Adventuring!
Mariah
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