Jul 20–23 · meet 5:30 am PDT · $2,950 · Reserve

Ridgeline Treks, a four-day photo trek in the Oregon Cascades

  1. Five photographers with packs walking a pumice trail toward a snowy volcano

    Into the
    basin.

    01 / 04 Day 1 · Green Lakes · 6,500 ft

    f/9 · 1/250 · ISO 100 · 24mm

  2. A hiker on a rocky ridge above a sea of clouds at sunrise

    Above the clouds
    by sunrise.

    02 / 04 Day 2 · ridge camp · 7,900 ft

    f/11 · 1/60 · ISO 100 · 24mm

  3. A glowing tent on a rocky ridge at blue hour

    A tent on
    the ridge.

    02 / 04 Day 2 · blue hour · 7,900 ft

    f/8 · 2s · ISO 400 · 20mm

  4. A meadow of lupine and paintbrush below a glacier

    Lupine at
    first light.

    03 / 04 Day 3 · the meadows · 7,100 ft

    f/11 · 1/30 · ISO 100 · 18mm

  5. A snowy peak glowing pink at dawn, mirrored in a still lake

    The mountain
    in the lake.

    04 / 04 Day 4 · the tarn · 6,800 ft

    f/11 · 1/8 · ISO 100 · 24mm

Jul 20–23 · meet 5:30 am PDT · $2,950 · Reserve
  • 4days, 3 nights
  • 15.5miles on trail
  • 7,900feet, ridge camp
  • 4sunrises, planned
  • 6photographers, 2 guides

Three Sisters Wilderness · Oregon Cascades

Four days built around
four sunrises.

A photo trek for six, with Silas and a second guide, from the waterfalls of Fall Creek to a ridge camp under Broken Top. We walk to where the light will be, set the tripods in the dark, and carry the tents for you on the steep day.

The trek · Jul 20–23 · times in PDT

Day by day

Swipe the days, or tap the trail. Every time is Pacific Daylight Time, UTC−7, the clock in Bend.

6,500 ftGreen Lakes7,900 ftRidge camp7,100 ftMeadow camp5,450 ftTrailhead
  1. A mossy forest trail beside a tumbling creek and small waterfall
    Fall Creek, 9:40 am · f/16 · 1/2 · ISO 100 · 18mm

    01 / 04 Tue Jul 20

    Into the basin

    4.5 mi+1,050 ftGreen Lakes · 6,500 ft

    • Meet in Bend, coffee, gear check, permits
    • Green Lakes Trailhead, 5,450 ft
    • Fall Creek’s cascades: half-second water, polarizer on
    • Camp at Green Lakes, a nap in the shade
    • South Sister goes pink in the water. Sunset 8:37 pm
  2. A hiker on a ridge above a sea of clouds at sunrise
    The ridge, 5:46 am · f/11 · 1/60 · ISO 100 · 24mm

    02 / 04 Wed Jul 21

    Above the clouds

    2.5 mi+1,400 ftRidge camp · 7,900 ft

    • Headlamps on, up the shoulder in the dark
    • Sunrise over the fog in the valleys, three peaks lit in a row
    • Break camp, carry it up under Broken Top
    • Blue hour at the tents, a 2-second frame
    • The Milky Way over Broken Top, for whoever’s awake
  3. Lupine and paintbrush in a high meadow below a glacier
    The meadows, 6:20 am · f/11 · 1/30 · ISO 100 · 18mm

    03 / 04 Thu Jul 22

    The meadows

    2.5 mi−800 ftMeadow camp · 7,100 ft

    • The crater at sunrise: meltwater, red rock, a sea of cloud
    • Breakfast, then down into the lupine and paintbrush
    • Macro hour: dew, a 100mm, a reflector
    • Editing in the shade, one frame each on Silas’s laptop
    • Last light on the flowers, low and long
  4. A snowy peak glowing pink at dawn, mirrored in a still lake
    The tarn, 5:38 am · f/11 · 1/8 · ISO 100 · 24mm

    04 / 04 Fri Jul 23

    The mountain in the lake

    6 mi−1,650 ftBack in Bend by 1:30 pm

    • Tripods at the tarn, before the wind
    • Alpenglow on South Sister, mirrored in still water
    • Pancakes, pack up, and the long downhill
    • Trailhead, shoes off
    • Bend: lunch and goodbyes

Departures

Four treks,
one summer

$2,950a photographer, everything on the mountain included

  • Wilderness permits
  • Two guides, both WFR
  • All meals on trail
  • Tents, stoves, filters
  • Loaner tripod
  • Drive from Bend

Gear

The pack, weighed

Everything you carry, in ounces. We send the full list with your booking; this is what makes it heavy.

A backpack, camera, lenses, a travel tripod, a headlamp, a down jacket, a mug, poles and a map laid out on volcanic gravel
The kit on the pumice at Green Lakes · f/8 · 1/125 · ISO 200 · 35mm
  1. Your camera and two lensesA wide and a mid-tele. Leave the third lens at home.4 lb
  2. Travel tripodOr borrow one of ours, carbon, 2 lb 12 oz.2 lb 12 oz
  3. Sleeping bag, 20°FNights run 35 to 40°F at ridge camp.2 lb 4 oz
  4. Down jacket, rain shell, warm hatMornings start cold; afternoons can storm.1 lb 14 oz
  5. Your share of food and fuelWe pack it in Bend and split it six ways.3 lb
  6. Water, 2 litersFiltered from the lakes and creeks on the way.4 lb 6 oz
  7. Headlamp, batteries, power bankBatteries die fast at 4 am; keep them warm.0 lb 14 oz
  8. The pack, a pad, your share of a tentWe split the tents; on the steep day we carry them.6 lb

Your pack, all in25 lb 2 oz

  • Phone only?It works. We bring clamps for the tripods and teach exposure lock; half of every group’s favorite frames are on phones.
  • Which lenses?A wide (16 to 24mm) for the ridge and the tarn, and a 70 to 200 for the peaks over the clouds. A macro if you love flowers.
  • FiltersA polarizer for the creek and the lakes. A 3-stop graduated filter if you have one; bracketing works too.
  • PowerNo outlets for four days. Two spare batteries and a 10,000 mAh bank, kept in your sleeping bag at night.

Fitness, weather and smoke

  • Fitness

    Moderate to hard6 miles and 2,000 ft a day with about 25 lb, at altitude. If you hike most weekends, you’re ready.

  • Weather

    35° to 80°FFrosty dawns, warm afternoons, the odd thunderstorm. We plan to be off the ridge by early afternoon.

  • Smoke

    AQI over 150 = we moveYour trek moves free, or your money comes back. We decide by noon two days before.

  • Group

    6 + 2Six photographers, Silas and a second guide. Well under the wilderness group limit of twelve.
Silas Ferris, the guide, on a rocky ridge at golden hour with a camera on his pack strap
Silas on the ridge · f/4 · 1/250 · ISO 200 · 50mm

Your guide

Silas Ferris

I spent six summers building trail in these mountains before I ever photographed them.

I came to Bend in 2008 for a Forest Service trail crew job and spent the summers with a shovel and a crosscut saw in the Three Sisters. In July 2010, on a day off, I walked up to a tarn at 4 am with a borrowed camera to see what South Sister looked like at dawn. The frame I got at 5:38 is still on my wall, slightly crooked.

I started guiding photographers in 2015, under a Forest Service outfitter permit. What I know isn’t the trail, it’s the clock: which ridge catches the sun first, when the fog sits in the valleys, which tarn is still at 5:30 because the wind hasn’t woken up.

  • 2008first summer on trail crew
  • 60+treks guided since 2015
  • WFRWilderness First Responder, permitted

Reviews

4.9 from 186 trekkers

  • “I flew in from Melbourne for this. Day 2 at 5:46 am, standing above the clouds, is now my phone background and my desktop and a print in the hall.”

    Fiona D.July trek

  • “I shot the whole trek on my phone. Silas showed me the exposure lock and a tiny tripod trick. My lupine photo won the office contest.”

    Marcus T.August trek

  • “I’ve guided climbs for twenty years and never had someone plan a route around where the light lands. Every alarm was worth it.”

    Ana P.September trek

  • “The pack was heavier than I hoped and lighter than I feared. Silas’s weighed-out list was exactly right.”

    Greg and Lou H.July trek

Where

The Three Sisters Wilderness

West of Bend, Oregon, between South Sister and Broken Top. We meet in Bend at 5:30 am PDT; the exact spot comes with your booking.

© OpenStreetMap contributors
Green Lakes and Broken Top Three Sisters Wilderness, Deschutes National Forest Open the map
Fly to Redmond
Redmond Municipal Airport is about 25 minutes from Bend.
Drive from Portland
About 3 hours 15 minutes over the mountains.
The night before
Stay in Bend. 5:30 am is early, and a night at 3,600 ft helps with the altitude.
The clock
Pacific Time. In July that’s PDT, UTC−7: 5:30 am in Bend is 12:30 pm UTC.

Questions

Before you reserve

How fit do I need to be?

You should be able to hike 6 miles with 2,000 feet of climbing in a day carrying about 25 pounds, and enjoy it. The longest day is the last, and it’s downhill. If you’re coming from sea level, spend a night in Bend first.

I only have a phone. Is that enough?

Yes. A recent phone handles sunrise and blue hour well; we bring phone clamps for the tripods, and Silas shows you how to lock focus and exposure so the sky doesn’t blow out.

What if there’s wildfire smoke?

July to September, smoke is part of life in the Cascades. We watch the air quality daily. If the forecast is over 150 on the AQI, or fire closes the wilderness, your trek moves to another date or your money comes back in full.

What about storms?

Afternoon thunderstorms can build in July. We plan to be off the ridge by early afternoon and camp below the skyline. Silas and the second guide are both Wilderness First Responders.

What’s included?

The wilderness permits, two guides, every meal from the first day’s lunch to the last day’s breakfast, tents, stoves, water filters, a loaner tripod if you need one, and the drive from Bend.

How does the $600 deposit work?

It holds your place and comes off the $2,950. The rest is due 30 days before the trek. Cancel more than 60 days out and it comes back.

Reserve

Hold your place

Pick a departure and the day it starts. $600 holds each place and comes off the $2,950. Silas calls the week before with the forecast, the smoke outlook and your pack list. Booking from abroad? Every time is PDT, UTC−7.

Jul 20–23 · Aug 3–6 · Aug 11–14 · Sep 14–17 · $2,950 a photographer

02 / 04 · Day 2 · ridge camp · 7,900 ft
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