Mt. Saint Helens Trip

I had hoped to bite off another 100 miles of the PCT in Northern Oregon in August, but my timing was poor: the herd of northbound thru-hikers was passing right through at the same time.  Word was 100 people a day were landing in Cascade Locks.  This was pretty much the exact opposite of the wilderness solitude I was seeking, so I was forced to do a quick improvisation.  I decided to do the Loowit Trail, which circumambulates Mt. Saint Helens.

It was a good choice!  I only passed about 5 other hikers in 3 days and was able to camp alone every night.  I parked my truck at the Windy Ridge trailhead just in time for a spectacular sunset over Spirit Lake.  I slept in the bed as a wicked rain and rain swept through all night.  It created a sense of foreboding for the days ahead.

The next morning I had about 20′ of visibility and seriously considered calling it off.  But the fact that my initial plans were already ruined compelled me to press forward regardless of the conditions–I really wanted to have some kind of adventure.  Fortunately by late morning all the clouds had blown off and I was treated to sunshine for the rest of the journey.

I worked my way counterclockwise around the volcano, starting at about 1 o’clock on the dial.  It was quite thrilling to contemplate the recent and obvious evidence of the eruption.  Usually when I look at mountains I appreciate their beauty but have little to no concept of the underlying geology.  With St Helens it’s easy to grasp the forces at work because the evidence is so fresh, and the action took place in the span of days instead of millennia. 

I could see where the north face of the mountain came sliding down, scouring a huge wasteland of rubble and ravines.  The debris choked Spirit Lake, nearly doubling its are; and many of the nearly 1 million trees on the north face are now floating dead in lake, forming a giant grey carpet on the leeward edge of the lake.  I worked my way in and our of numerous ravines of ash and rock, cut by snow melt from the peak.  I traveled across fields of nothing but lava rocks and wooden poles to mark the trail.  It was bleak and beautiful.

By the end of the day I had worked almost halfway around the mountain.  There was only one opportunity for water on the entire trail so far, but a couple I’d passed had recommended a good creek-side campsite just a half mile off the trail.  It was forested and remote and I found a great spot to pitch camp.

The next day had quite a bit more forest on the southern slope, but also many hours crossing lava fields.  I made a dry camp on the NE shoulder with a lovely view of Mt Adams in the distance.  I had the pleasure of hanging out with a mountain goat who was also enjoying the view.

The next day was only a few hours back to my truck.  Was a pretty great trip, given that I did zero planning!  It’s nice when things work out like that.