They say there is a difficult, but beautiful mountain range outside Bend, Oregon called "The Three Sisters". Needless to say, when my two sisters and I embarked upon a week long llama trek in the Wallowa National Forest in Eastern Oregon; we were quickly named by our group as "The Three Sisters". No one seemed to know what to do with a group of southern women who just happened to want to go backpacking in the mountains of Oregon, except to rename us! It was the first wilderness trip we had taken together, and without bragging; we did great and had a fabulous time! We put on our hiking boots, packed our bags and met Rich, Melissa, John, Carol, Nancy and eight wonderful llamas at the town of Joseph, Oregon, where we departed from early the next morning. Let me tell you, hiking with llamas is the way to go. They carry 70 lbs. ,up steep,dusty trails and through cold streams; never complaining with the exception of the "humming" they do when they are stressed. Maybe we should all take up humming; it certainly seemed to calm everyone. We hiked 5-7 miles a day, went to elevations of 8500 feet, saw stunning vistas and experienced cold mornings and sunny, warm days. There was unmelted snow, ice cold lakes and high meadows teaming with wildflowers. Each campsite had it's own personality and each day's trail had a new surprise we had not seen the day before. When we returned to the real world, it was great to have a soft bed, and certainly a hot shower......... but it took a few weeks before these southern women did not miss their eight llamas!