Mt Thielsen

The third weekend in June 2021 I had hoped to visit Steens Mountain in Eastern Oregon...but the road to the summit which is the highest in the state did not reopen in time. While I was concerned it was a bit too early, I decided to try my first overnight backpack trip...up to the relatively small and often overlooked Mt Thielsen. It's just a few miles from Crater Lake and Diamond Lake which both draw big crowds who usually only drive past Thielsen on the highway. But I've recently discovered that some of the most incredibly beautiful gems of Oregon are these small, overlooked mountains. It was a little early -- there was still a lot of snow which made hiking further on the PCT difficult, but I made it up to the meadows right under the mountain which were my goal and it was just as beautiful as I'd expected. It was really fun to be able to sleep near the best view, waking up and catching the stunning alpenglow at 5:30am!