SPIRIT LAKE

We drove out of the park and stopped in Packwood to pick up sandwiches, a NW forest pass (for $5, this gives you the privilege to park in your national forest, for a day), and gas. We'll we tried to get gas, anyway. The pumps weren't working at the first station we stopped at. Trouble getting gas turned out to be a theme for the trip, but eventually we found another (the other) gas station in town.

After Packwood we drove through Randle and then took a narrow forest service road. We passed the Iron Creek Campground and its old-growth forest, but decided not to stop. We had already done one short "big trees" hike, and we had a lot on our agenda. We did stop some distance beyond for the short walk down to Iron Creek Falls. This was a small but pretty freefall into a beautiful green pool.

From there we took the road into the National Volcanic Monument. In case you're wondering, a National Volcanic Monument is identical to a regular National Monument, except that they don't honor a National Parks Pass and some of the various visitor fees are higher. We didn't have to drive far to get our first view of Mt. St. Helens. Our first glimpse extended through miles of blown-down forest to the shattered north face of the mountain. The forest is only beginning to recover from the 1980 blast. For the most part, there's nothing but barren hillsides covered in fallen trees. This was quite a shock, after hiking through the lush forests of Mount Ranier.

We drove halfway down the road toward Windy Ridge, and parked at the Harmony trailhead. From the parking area there was a good view down to Spirit Lake. We got our gear together, and actually put on boots for the hike down. The hike is a little over a mile, and well worth the effort. However, it was sunny and very hot, and there weren't any trees to speak of to provide shade. By the time we finished the descent, we were walking through an ash-covered landscape that reminded me of Utah. However, it wasn't totally barren. Shrubs were growing, and wildflowers were everywhere. We reached the lakeshore a few minutes later, and were rewarded with an incredible view. The millions of logs that still float in Spirit Lake were pushed toward our end of the lake. Our view extended out over this mass of bobbing wood and across the lake to the gaping crater on the north side of the mountain. We stopped for lunch on some driftwood and reflected on the destruction that the volcano brought. We also began to really anticipate the climb planned for the next day.

Eventually we had to leave, and it was a hot sweaty hike back to the car. From there, we continued to the end of the road at Windy Ridge. Along the way we were treated to a fine view of Mt. Adams, another volcano on the crest of the Cascades to the west. From the parking area, we hiked up about 400 steps to get to the top of the ridge. This gave us a different view, with Adams to the west, Spirit Lake below us, and Mount St. Helens towering over the whole scene.

Our visit to Windy Ridge was brief, and we backtracked to the main road. From there we continued south. Soon we were back in the woods, which provided some welcome shade. By mid-afternoon we reached Cougar, and headed for Jack's restaurant to pick up our climbing permit.

When we got to Jack's we were surprised to find Dave waiting for us. Dave had left Charlotte on Friday, driving cross-country to meet us. I had talked to him Sunday night, when he was in Idaho. He hadn't expected to make it before evening, so it was a shock that he beat us there.

We were disappointed that Jack's was out of several key flavors of ice cream. The reason for this became apparent when we met Jack. Jack was a large man, and it's a stretch to imagine that he's been much closer to the summit of Mount St. Helens than his front porch. We paid for our permits, and saw that they were calling for another hot day on Tuesday. We vowed to get an early start to beat the heat.

COOLIN' OFF

We left Jack's and headed for the Climber's Bivouac to check out the camping situation. We found a large, mostly empty gravel parking lot, with campsites scattered around the perimeter. We found a decent one behind a screen of trees, complete with two bundles of cedar firewood that someone had kindly left behind. We set up, and decided to head back down the mountain to cool off.

Going for a swim seemed like a good idea, but I had a different plan. Instead we drove to the Ape Cave trailhead. Ape Cave is actually an ancient lava tube. The tunnel is now a couple of miles long, and sounded like an interesting place to explore. Most importantly, park literature promised a constant temperature in the 40's. This sounded great, so we threw on jeans and sweatshirts, grabbed multiple flashlights, and headed for the entrance.

Our timing was good. We arrived in the evening, after the tourists had headed back to camp. We had the entire tunnel to ourselves. We descended a staircase down into the passage. At the bottom, we headed down, towards the easy section of the cave. The upper portion is very demanding, with lots of fallen rocks. Our section was very gentle, which was a good thing since our lights were pretty ineffective in the absolute darkness. After we'd gone a way's into the cave, we turned them off for a time. There was nothing but a gentle breeze and the dripping of water.

We continued for about 30 minutes before turning back. We didn't encounter anyone else the entire time, which greatly enhanced the experience. By the time we reached the car, evening was coming on and it was finally a bit cooler. We headed back to camp, and enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and a fine campfire. We stayed up long enough to see the sky full of stars before heading for the tent. We had an exciting day planned, so it was hard to settle down.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

We woke up at 4:30. That wasn't the plan, but a vanload of kids from the First Baptist Church of Walla Walla Washington (or somewhere like that) had other ideas. They arrived at 4:30 and alerted everyone camping nearby to their presence by slamming doors, yelling, and generally making enough noise to wake Jesus. Maybe that was the idea. You never can tell with those Baptists.

So we laid in the tent until 5ish. We had originally planned to get up at 5:30 and hit the trail at 6. We got up a little sooner, but took our time getting organized. We started at 6, which gave the Baptists at least an hour's head start. The first two miles of the route followed the Ptarmigan Trail through a lovely forest of conifers. We passed a few patches of snow, but otherwise the trail served as a nice warm up for the climb ahead. After 45 minutes the trail got steeper, and eventually we reached the Loowit Trail. The Loowit Trail circles Mt. St. Helens, and would make a nice 3 or 4 day trip. Beyond the junction we stopped to use the toilet and wolfed down bagels. By 7:15 we were ready to get serious about the climb ahead.

Shortly after the bathroom we reached treeline. Ahead of us was the rocky mass of Monitor Ridge. Treeline is unusually low on Mount St. Helens. Apparently this is due to past volcanic activity. We passed a sign stating that a permit is required to continue (only 100 people are all allowed to climb each day). We boulder hopped up a switchbacking route to the top of the ridge. Along the way we followed tall metal posts, which served as route markers. Once on the ridge, the hiking became a trial of boulder-hopping. The volcanic rocks were quite sharp, which we found out the hard way.

Once on Monitor Ridge we began to pass other hikers with considerable frequency. By 8AM we caught up with the Baptists and their cute rented ice axes. It was a pleasure to put them behind us as we began to scale an even steeper part of the route.

Part of the challenge was in deciding which of the many paths to follow. Sometimes the top of the ridge seemed best, while at other times dropping off to either side was easier. This was a game we played most of the way to the top.

Once on Monitor Ridge we had uninterrupted views to the west, south, and east. Unfortunately, it was very hazy. It was a cloudy day, and the fact that the entire state of Oregon was on fire certainly didn't help. Still, it was hard to complain. The clouds were keeping the temperature down, and it certainly could've been a lot worse.

It was after 9 when we got to the hard part. The last mile or so was an extremely steep trail of ash. We slogged upwards, often sliding backwards one step for every two we went forward. Finally, the rim of the crater was just ahead. We arrived at 10:15, and it was a sight to behold. Far below, the floor of the crater was easily visible. At one point, a plume of steam was visible rising from the floor. Sheer cliffs surrounded the crater on 3 sides. Beyond was Spirit Lake, and in the farthest distance Mt. Ranier stood out above the clouds. To the east, Mt. Adams was visible through the haze. We found a nice spot on the rim, and settled down for an early lunch.

Generally speaking, I'm opposed to cell phones in the backcountry. I find them to be an unnecessary, and frequently useless, intrusion into the wilderness experience. However, climbing a mountain with 97 of our closest friends (ok, 80-some other than the Baptists) isn't exactly a wilderness experience. When Christy told me that she'd like to call her Dad from the top, I didn't object. So she whipped her Verizon phone out and completely failed to get a call through. Can you hear me now? No. A guy in the next group over didn't seem to have a problem. He was using Sprint.

So with that technological failure behind us, we were able to enjoy our accomplishment. We explored the rim in both directions, though very carefully. One slip towards the crater would result in a LONG fall. The highlight of the climb though was the falling rocks. Every so often, rocks would come loose from the cliffs and tumble down into the crater. The first rock slide sounded like a freight train. It was truly an amazing experience to sit and watch those boulders tumbling down into the crater.

Eventually we had to leave. We spent a full 2 hours on the rim, but ice cream and beer (not necessarily together) were calling us. The descent was a lot of fun. The first mile in the ash was a semi-controlled freefall. We were cautious at first, but soon were "skiing" down through the ash. I only fell three times. The last time, my ass landed right on a pointy rock. After that, the fun was over and I chose to walk the rest of the way. Well, all except for the final snow slope. Towards the end of Monitor Ridge the route crossed a steep but safe snowfield. The day had gotten hot, and it was too much to pass up. Soon we were sledding down the mountain, and filling our shorts with snow. It was so refreshing, we climbed back up and slid back down again.

The rest of the hike was uneventful. On the way out, we passed a woman and her 4 year-old daughter, who had been all the way to the top. She had walked the whole way. I was impressed. Frankly, they weren't making bad time, either. Better than the Baptists, anyway.

We reached the parking area by mid-afternoon. From there, it was a pleasant ride back down to Jack's to sign out and indulge ourselves with ice cream. After that we drove out through Cougar and headed for the interstate. Along the way, a coyote crossed the road in front of us. Once we reached the highway we headed north toward Castle Rock. We got off there, and headed for Seaquest State Park. We had a reserved campsite, but by the time you added the fee, the reservation charge, and the extra vehicle fee, we could've probably gotten a cheap hotel room. Oh well, at least it was pretty. Lots of big trees, and a fair amount of seclusion. The mosquitoes were fierce though. Oh, and the showers took quarters. You'd think they'd be free, given all the fees we paid to stay there. They weren't though, and there were plenty of mosquitoes inside to keep you from lingering.

After cleaning up we headed into Castle Rock for dinner. An exhaustive search of the restaurants there left us with the following options:

A Mexican place

A pizza place

A Mexican place / pizza place in a gas station

A biker bar

A family restaurant, where everything, including the menu, is deep-fried

So we went with the pizza place (not in the gas station). Well, it was decent, and they had Michelob Amber Bock on draft. After climbing Mt. St. Helens, it didn't take much of that to make the drive back to camp a challenge.

DOIN' THAT TOURIST THANG

We took Wednesday off. In planning, I had anticipated having trouble walking. We weren't doing too bad, but it still seemed like a good idea to take it easy. We had a hearty breakfast and broke camp. We headed across the road to the first of 5 visitor's centers. We paid a one-time, all access fee, and really enjoyed it. The first benefit was that we got there early. We had the place almost to ourselves. The movie was excellent, and focused mainly on the human impact of the Mount St. Helens eruption. The exhibits were also impressive. In hindsight, I could've been happy just with this visitor's center. However, we decided to head up the road to take more in.

We passed the next two visitor's centers (one is pretty much just a gift shop, the other is run by Weyerhauser) and headed for Johnston Ridge. We toured this one as well, and also enjoyed the theatre presentation. This movie was also good, though a bit more "Hollywood". Afterwards, we backtracked down to Coldwater Ridge for lunch. We wolfed down burgers and fries, and enjoyed the views of Coldwater Lake, which was created by the 1980 eruption.

By early afternoon, we were ready to move on. We had seen Mt. St. Helens from just about every conceivable vantage. It was time for a change of pace. It was time to head for the beach.

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