Snow in Mt Thielsen area?
Re: Snow in Mt Thielsen area?
I was up at Diamond Lake a few weeks ago and was amazed at how much it had melted out. Having said that, there looked to be a lot of snow up on Mt Thielsen. Not sure what the weather has been up there the past few weeks but I can't imagine that there wouldn't still be significant snow coverage.
Re: Snow in Mt Thielsen area?
Hiked up Tipsoo Peak today to actually see what snow conditions looked like in the Thielsen Wilderness. No snow at the trailhead and up to 7,000 feet - completely melted out. Above 7,000 feet, nothing but snow - 2-5 feet in the forest, less on the exposed rock ridges. Saw ski tracks on the PCT below Tipsoo but guessing it'll be a few weeks before the PCT is mostly clear of snow here. LOTS of mosquitos down in the forest - LOTS!!!
Thielsen and the PCT from Tipsoo today
Thielsen and the PCT from Tipsoo in July 2015 - a drought year
Thielsen and the PCT from Tipsoo today Thielsen and the PCT from Tipsoo in July 2015 - a drought year
Re: Snow in Mt Thielsen area?
Super helpful, Van! Thanks!
I think we'll have an adventure. My partner like snow climbs more than scrambles, anyway. I'll deal.
I think we'll have an adventure. My partner like snow climbs more than scrambles, anyway. I'll deal.
Believe it or not, I barely ever ride a mountain bike.
Re: Snow in Mt Thielsen area?
We did an overnight lollipop hike starting from the Howlock Mountain trailhead (about 6000') 7/3-7/4. It was quite warm up there so by the time you go it's possible the conditions will be significantly different.
In any case, when we went there's no snow for about 1-1.5 mile in from the trailhead. Above 7000' there is a lot of snow. We were lucky to find a dry snow-free spot a little beyond where we thought the meadow should be (based on GPS), and it had a great view of the mountain from a snow filled valley, though we only roughly followed the trail so i'm not sure how to point you to that spot if you were interested.
Thielsen creek in that valley is under very deep snow. But we were able to find running water by walking about half a mile back down.
The valley traverse was all on snow. I was glad to have my spikes on, though one of us did it without poles or spikes.
Once we got to the Mt. Thielsen summit trail on the ridge, there was a lot less snow, and one could get by in just normal shoes, at least on the day I was there. There were many other hikers on this part. The summit itself is snow-free, as the picture in the previous post showed.
We were only on the PCT for a little bit for this route. And we didn't see a single other hiker other than on the summit trail.
I would love to post some photos but I just moved and can't find my cables
Have fun!
-Eugenia
In any case, when we went there's no snow for about 1-1.5 mile in from the trailhead. Above 7000' there is a lot of snow. We were lucky to find a dry snow-free spot a little beyond where we thought the meadow should be (based on GPS), and it had a great view of the mountain from a snow filled valley, though we only roughly followed the trail so i'm not sure how to point you to that spot if you were interested.
Thielsen creek in that valley is under very deep snow. But we were able to find running water by walking about half a mile back down.
The valley traverse was all on snow. I was glad to have my spikes on, though one of us did it without poles or spikes.
Once we got to the Mt. Thielsen summit trail on the ridge, there was a lot less snow, and one could get by in just normal shoes, at least on the day I was there. There were many other hikers on this part. The summit itself is snow-free, as the picture in the previous post showed.
We were only on the PCT for a little bit for this route. And we didn't see a single other hiker other than on the summit trail.
I would love to post some photos but I just moved and can't find my cables
Have fun!
-Eugenia
Re: Snow in Mt Thielsen area?
Oh yeah. As previous poster said, MOSQUITOES! I am a mosquito magnet and I only used a moderate amount of bug spray, but I got like a hundred bites over 4 days in the area.
A reason to camp well above snow melt level...
A reason to camp well above snow melt level...