2 Mount Saint Helens Hikes
August and September 2014
August and September 2014
Both hikes started at Climber’s Bivouac. The trail goes through forest for about 2 miles to timberline. At this point the trails continues winding 2.6 miles along Monitor Ridge through boulders until it becomes an ash slope near the rim. The hike is about 9.4 miles long with an elevation gain of 4,500 feet.
August Hike
In August of 2014 I decided that I’d like to climb Mt. St. Helens again. I’ve been climbing it throughout the years. The permit system keeps changing. A permit is required to hike beyond tree-line. These permits go on sale in February and are sold out within a day or two. Unfortunately this doesn’t allow climbers to choose a good weather window for the day their permit is valid. I was looking at a weekend with a nice weather window and was lucky enough to coordinate with someone else to acquire the necessary permits. I picked up 3 permits and invited Jon and Kirti Walpole to join me. Both agreed to go. Kirti had never been to the top before.
Jon and Kirti couldn’t start before dawn so I left the permits for them and agreed to meet them halfway up the mountain. I started off in the dark of night using my headlamp to navigate the trails. No one else was hiking. I emerged out of the woods and started up the rocky ridge to a point where I could watch the sun come up near Mt. Adams. Bundling up in all my clothes I hunkered down to watch light spill into the world as I waited for my friends to arrive.
From that point, we hiked to the top of the crater and spent time soaking in the view. It turned out to be a sunny warm day. The views were magnificent looking into the crater. The varied colors in the crater walls and the steam rising off of the center dome were amazing. A blanket of clouds rolled in, so that only the tops of high peaks were islands above the clouds.
September Solo Hike
The August hike was so fantastic that I wanted to go again. I was lucky a second time to coordinate with someone who had one ticket to sell. With only one ticket, I was committing to a solo hike.
I backpacked in from the trailhead and camped in the forest.
Early, around 5:15, I packed up and stashed my big pack amongst the trees. I loaded up my separate day pack with water, food and warm clothes. I then started up the rocky ridge. Once I hit the open trail I didn't even need my headlamp for light because the moonlight was bright enough. I had a moon shadow companion keeping pace with me. It was fantastic to hike this way. Higher on the ridge I was able to hang out and watch the sun gradually rise in line with the peak of Mt. Adams. The Alpen glow on Mt. Hood was beautiful as well. I enjoyed the quiet unfolding of the day and thought about how lucky I am to witness such beauty.
Visibility was good enough to see Mt. Jefferson which is south of Mt. Hood. The sky to the west had layers of blue and pink which were bright until the sun popped out.
Continuing to the top I found an unexpected treasure in a pink rose that someone left behind. The splash of color amid grey volcanic rock was beckoning me to take a picture.
At the top, I had the mountain all to myself for at least and hour or more. A breeze was blowing from the south so you definitely didn't want to let go of anything that would get blown into the crater. All around me landslides were rolling down as the crater walls are constantly crumbling. Some are bigger than others and I kept getting up to spot where the slide was happening. Dust clues you in and then you can see rocks and boulders rolling down to the bottom. More slides were triggered when the sun started to warm up and melt the icy patches loosening up rock here and there.
At one point a helicopter buzzed along outside the south wall and circled to the east where it flew through a low gap in the rim and went straight to the center of the dome. It landed on a snow patch and 3 people in yellow suits got out to carry something to the edge of the snow where they worked with it awhile. Then they got in the helicopter and flew out of the crater. It was a very quick operation. The helicopter looks so tiny and definitely put the size of the dome in perspective.
After awhile other climbers began to arrive. When it got crowded I started down. When I got to tree line I retrieved my pack and then continued to my truck. It was still early in the day and no one was there to talk me out of more exploring, so I drove another 8 miles to a really interesting place called Lava Canyon.
Lava Canyon Hike
The Lava Canyon trail follows a mudflow-scoured chasm past ancient lava cliffs and waterfalls. There are bridges and ladders to negotiate on a 5.9 mile round-trip hike with about 1400 feet in elevation gain.
I did all of the bridge hikes over a narrow canyon with spectacular falls and then did a hike down the river. The down river hike was a new one for me. It was nice to explore an area I haven't been. This was a great weekend of hiking.
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