Vacation Day 5: Broken Top

We woke Thursday to dense fog - not a good sign if you're planning to climb a mountain. We waited a couple hours until it lessened and figured we'd give it a try. So we loaded our packs and started toward the saddle. But we stopped part way up. Brad's not just enjoying the view:
He's looking at this:
We found a nice place to hunker down when the rain hit:
But it didn't come. The system seemed to be splitting before it reached us. And the clouds on the top didn't look too bad, coming and going:
So we decided to go for it. We made it to the saddle and then up, up toward the summit block. Still, we looked for bivy spots on the route where we could take cover if need be.

We were about 500 feet from the summit when our luck ran out and we were suddenly in the clouds and rain. So we turned around and headed back to a "good" bivy spot we'd seen on the way up.
Watching the storm through the trees:
We waited 30-45 minutes and the clouds and wind didn't let up. I was getting cold, so we decided to throw in the towel and return to camp, disappointed to be so close and not summit. As we packed up, we watched the top, which remained shrouded in clouds.

Brad snapped a few photos of the lakes and the hike out:
Our reward for the effort: veggie pizza at Old Town Pizza in Bend. YUM!

It was a beautiful hike and a good climb. I'm excited to go back and try again.

It was also a great vacation. We spent one more night in Bend before heading home Friday. We were pooped, but for all good reasons. What fun it was to explore Central Oregon! And a big thanks to Sue for the use of her wonderful home!

:)