Tipsoo Peak Mt Thielsen Wilderness Hike 10-23
My friend Deb, her dog and myself made the 3+ horizontal mile hike to Tipsoo Peak with an elevation of over 8000 feet in the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness. The fitness app on my phone indicated we did over 4 miles based on slope distance making for an 8+ mile round trip. This is probably the most vigorous hike I’ve done in 30 years and not without some ill-feelings in the last mile above 7000 feet when I became light headed. It could have been the high elevation plus dehydration and a lack of electrolytes. We took it slow the last mile up to the top of the peak where the north wind was blowing, putting a chill in the air. The two attached pictures are looking south toward the pointed peak of Mt Thielsen and looking north toward the snow covered Three Sisters in the far distance. On our descent off the peak we ran into a Forest Service crew of pathologists and ecologists that are doing research work on a stand of Whitebark Pine discovered recently just north of Tipsoo Peak. The only Whitebark pine I have ever known about are in the southern Sierras. The hike back down to the trailhead was all downhill through a forest of giant Red Fir trees with young Mountain Hemlock making up the understory. It was after 5 pm when we made it back to the car. On our drive back down the north Umpqua Highway we stopped at the Dry Creek store with 10 minutes to spare before they closed to buy a bottle of Gatorade to bring new life back into my old body. A good time was had by all, including Vincent the dog. Mike Burke (posted by Diana Pace)
