Reportage - Thielsen: 06.15.09
Mt. Thielsen, situated a few miles north of Crater Lake, stands as the lightning rod of the state, if not country or world. An unusual mineral called Fulgurite is easily visible and can be seen from up on the mountain. This mineral results in a natural hollow glass tube formed by thunderbolts fusing grains together over a period of around one second. This extinct shield volcano rises to 9,184 ft. making it part of the Oregon High Cascades and the 25th of 36 mountains within the state to rise at or above 9,000 ft.
The hike up was comprised of tempered weather systems rolling over and past the mountain which gave some hope to catching a brief window for a summit attempt. Unfortunately at 8,000 ft. the weather turned in to the mountain from both the north and the south, bringing with it dime sized hail, sleet and plenty of heavy rains. Heading off of a mountain without a summit is always discouraging, but safety should also always come first. With lightning storms the previous night, slick rock near the top and low visibility it wasn’t safe moving up anymore. Turning back to start a fire at our campsite then became the new destination and goal. Easily achieved.
