Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 • Two Westwood area seniors hike Lassen Peak
Publisher’s note: This story originally appeared in the Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 edition of the Lassen County Times.
The Lassen Peak Hike is listed as strenuous by the rangers at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Within a 2.5-mile stretch of hiking trail the elevation gain is a steep 2000 feet.
Perhaps that is why a few senior citizens in the Westwood area have chosen to hike Mt. Lassen to mark a birthday.
Flo Valdez, of Westwood, age 88, hikes up Lassen Peak Sept. 6.Floraido (Flo) Valdez went up the mountain Sept. 6, 2008 for the fourth time in five years. He turned 88 on Oct. 21.
He set a goal to climb Mt. Lassen at age 80 but each year the trail would be closed on his birthday due to bad weather. Finally, he bumped his hiking dates up to the early part of September.
His reason for climbing the mountain is to show people that he is still alive at age 88 and has no intention of sitting on the porch watching the world go by. Valdez said he exercises a lot and weighs the same today as he did in 1972.
Millie Dickson, 92, hikes Lassen Peak Sept. 14.Millie Dickson of Clear Creek hiked Mt. Lassen Sept. 14. She celebrated her 92nd birthday on June 21, 2008.
Dickson said she made the hike to finish what she started last year. Her previous attempt was cut short in 2007 when her hiking companions wanted to turn back just shy of the summit.
“It’s beautiful up there. I wouldn’t mind doing it again,” said Dickson.
Flo Valdez has several hiking buddies on his 2008 trek up Lassen Peak. From left to right—Asa Ota, Midori Takahashi, Haru Tsunoda, Kayla Doughty, Jesse Edrington, Cheryl Doughty, Steve Doughty, and Flo Valdez.Valdez hiked with his good friends Steve and Cheryl Doughty, their daughter Kayla, her boyfriend Jesse Edrington, and three Japanese exchange students from Butte Community College that included Asa Ota, Midori Takahashi and Haru Tsunoda.
The hike this year for Dickson was mostly a family affair. Those accompanying her up the mountain included nephew Kenneth Brown, his wife Jamie and son Cody; niece Dawn McNulty-Wall, Cecil Wall and Dawn’s two children Chelsey and Bryce; grandson Jack Dickson and two of the teen’s friends.
Mt. Lassen is thought to be the world’s largest plug dome volcano. It was formed 15,000 to 25,000 years ago on the flank of Mt. Tehama. The lava that flows from this type of volcano is thick and sticky and plugs the volcanic vent as it cools, thus its classification “plug” dome.
Lassen Peak erupted in 1914, and had minor volcanic activity through 1921. In 1916 the area was made a national park because of its significant volcanic activity.
The estimated time of the hike is 4.5-hours round trip. Dickson estimated her hiking party completed the route in about five hours.
