Femme Beckey Expedition: May 16th-June 8th, 2023
Written by: Miriam Caron, July 2023
Expedition Members: Lizzie Wenger, Miriam Caron, Sierra Smith, & Ella Meyer


Mountain One: Middle Sister via the North Ridge: May 16th-17th


We began our month-long expedition of the Cascades on May 16th, starting with Middle Sister in central Oregon. Standing at 10,046’, Middle Sister is the second most technical but lowest elevation of the Three Sisters’ Range. It was the perfect warm-up mountain to knock us back in shape. 


"Behind the Burn - Middle Sister" by Lizzie Wenger. See more of her amazing art at zieliz.com.

By far the hardest part of this climb was the approach from Pole Creek trailhead to Middle Sister. Due to the devastations of the Mill fire in 2017, the entire portion of the Deschutes National Forest and Three Sisters Wilderness that lead to the trailhead was a burn zone offering no shade or protection from the elements. The burn combined with a heavy winter in central Oregon meant that the trail was almost entirely covered in downed trees. It was rare that we could hike fifteen feet without climbing over a series of fallen trunks. The approach felt like we had entered a game of Frogger while carrying 70lb packs containing our backpacking and mountaineering gear. In most spots, the logs and snowpack were so thick that the trail couldn’t be seen beneath it, leading us to rely heavily on our GPS to stay on route. 


Miriam hiking over trees in the burn zone


Lizzie in the burn zone

When we finally arrived above the tree line the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. We made camp at about 7,000 ft. and crashed from the exhausting approach. The following night, we had an alpine start at about 3 a.m. which afforded us the view of an amazing sunrise as we headed for the top. There was one front pointing section around 9,000 ft. where we placed two pickets before summiting Middle Sister at about 9am via the North ridge.  The last obstacle we faced before reaching the top was some soft snow on the last 50 ft. of mellow walking. I post-holed through the snow so much that I eventually got frustrated and crawled to the summit! After a quick summit celebration of sour candy and pictures we made our way back to camp,  through the fallen forest and back to the car.


Middle Sister approach


Miriam and Lizzie at the Summit of Middle Sister


Miriam in posthole paradise

CLICK HERE to keep reading on to Part 3 of their adventure, which follows them on their second climb of the Femme Beckey Expedition -- Mt. Hood!