Embedded into the backcountry areas of Zion National Park, the Sierra Nevada, Death Valley National Park, and the Mojave Desert, Courtney Purcell's ramblings have also taken him all across the country and the world. From hiking, climbing and peakbagging in the Rockies, the Andes, the high volcanoes of Washington and Mexico, into the depths explored in spelunking, and the canyoneering of the Colorado Plateau, here you'll find trip reports, route beta and "stuff" relevant to the world of...
Where: Oregon Cascades
Who: solo
When: June 2010
Mount Thielsen and its needle-like summit spire is one of the most iconic peaks in the Cascades. With 3,800 feet of gain and a "scary, vertical" 80-foot summit climb, it promised to be a fun day of choss bagging. As it turned out, the summit climb was an easy breeze, the views breathtaking, and I returned to the car 4 hours and 25 minutes after leaving..JPG)
