Summer 2010. Paul and I leave the comforts of Oregon for Washington State to hike around Mount St. Helens. The 29 or so mile Loowit Trail circles around the volcano at between 3,400 and 4,800 feet
Fantastic view of the blast zone
Mt. Adams from the NE flank of St. Helens-note the tree trunks blown uphill in the blast zone in the foreground.
The Gearhart Wilderness is in South central Oregon about 60 miles east of Klamath Falls and about 30 miles north of the California border.
At 8,370 feet, it is low on the list of Oregon's highest peaks at #65, but one of the beautiful assets of this wilderness is its remoteness. While it's not far from the small Oregon city of Klamath Falls, the closest larger city is Reno, Nevada about 275 miles to the south. It's this isolation of this 35 square mile wilderness that makes Gearhart special.
Nico and I ventured from Central Oregon on a beautiful late fall weekend to spend three days in the wilderness. Coming south from Bend, we were able to catch a glimpse of the Oregon Outback, a section of the Great Sandy Desert of Southern Oregon.
The boys, Nico and I headed south of Bend about 20 miles to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The area called the Big Obsidian Flow formed about 1,300 years ago.
The Obsidian rock has a shiny, often sharp, black glass look to it and is formed from a certain type of volcanic flow that is formed in the west.
Occasionally, when the lava is cooling, air will get trapped in layers of pumice and crystal.
Mt. Thielsen is in the Southern Cascades, just north of Crater Lake, due east of Hwy 138 and Diamond Lake and 60 miles south of Mt. Bachelor.
Thielsen at 9,182 feet, looks similar to Europe's Matterhorn with a point on top. It is also called the lightning rod of the Cascades as it is struck very frequently.
Nico, our awesome new dog and I were out on our first overnight backpacking expedition.
We climbed from Hwy. 138 above Diamond Lake to the shoulder of Thielsen where it meets the Pacific Crest Trail. We set up camp there.
That's Diamond Lake (about 3 miles long( in the background with Mt. Bailey towering at about 8,200 feet above it.
Sweet wildlife as we saw this hawk, several deer, elk cows and a bear (unfortunately the bear had been shot by poachers who were hunting it out of season and we're just taking it's fur-sad reality that type of thing happens)
This is near the summit of Thielsen. It's volcanic history shows itself with some wild rock formations near the summit. The summit itself is the remains of the eroded volcanic plug from it's eruption 250,000 years ago. The lightning rod moniker for the mountain also causes a unique rock formation. A mineral called Fulgurite is formed when lightning strikes the mountain. The superheated volcanic rock melts into tubes of this mineral. It's effectively petrified lightning. Very cool.
Nico had a blast playing in the snow and climbing.
Just so you can appreciate the pitch of this mountain. The last reach before it goes totally vertical to the point is this long field of scree. I took this photo to show just how darn steep the climb is. At this point on the mountain, the trail is gone and you're just feeling your way up to the peak.
Nico at 9,000+ feet resting on the snow and enjoying the view.
This trip was a bonus. I was headed back to Oregon from a hike along the John Muir Trail and decided to poke around the Lassen Peak and Mt. Shasta areas.
The Lassen area is sparsely populated and gives you the chance to explore in isolation.
Lassen last erupted about 100 years ago and still smolders. You can see active vents still producing scalding steam.
Steam still lingers...
Mt. Shasta at dusk.
In it's beauty, Mt. Shasta, 14,179 feet, along with Lassen, the two prominent peaks in California that are part of the Cascades Range.
The boys, Nico and I headed south of Bend about 20 miles to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The area called the Big Obsidian Flow formed about 1,300 years ago.
The Obsidian rock has a shiny, often sharp, black glass look to it and is formed from a certain type of volcanic flow that is formed in the west. 
Another highlight of the area is Paulina Falls. 
