Volcano 2 - Mt. St. Helens

And now is the day I've been waiting and prepping for, a challenging and long hike up Coldwater Peak to get this gorgeous view of Mt. St. Helens and surrounding area. From my campground in Mt. Ranier, I had an early start and hit the road a little past 7am. The drive to the trailhead for this hike was over 3 1/2 hours away, and I needed to get on the trail before midday for sure. After three days of hanging around my campsite in Mt. Ranier and not a whole lot of driving, hitting the road did me good and got me excited for my next lag of the trip. A stop in at the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center confirmed that this would be a great hike and a great day to do it: snow had only cleared enought to make the trek enjoyable in the last week. At the trailhead and geared up to go, it was now already 11:30am. Not sure how that happened! I was sure I still had plenty of time, but I had gotten adequate warning about this hike that I wanted to be careful. Time to start climbing!

Well, it turned out to be the perfect day to do this exposed climb. Not too hot, and the clouds were just clearing at the start of my hike. There weren't a whole lot of trees on any part of this hike, they had all been scorched and killed 30 years ago from the eruption that devastated the surrounding landscape.

I was fascinated to see the change in ecosystems as I climbed, and made it to the peak around 3:00 which was better than expected. What a gorgeous view up there of not only Mt. St. Helens, but three other volcanoes: Mt. Ranier, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood. Beautiful views of St. Helens Lake and Spirit Lake were also had from the top. I grabbed some shots of the seismic measuring equipment too.

Throwing on my longsleeve, I made my way back down, admiring the way scenery changed as the sun descended. I trudged across the parking lot to my car around 7:00pm, that was certainly long enough! But I had something more to look forward to. On my drive in, I had gotten a coffee from a diner in Toutle, where I mentioned my longing for a shower. To my pleasant surprise, the owner informed me that she offered showers, and laundry! What a pleasant end to a dusty, sweaty, sunscreeny day. I found a hidden spot on the side of the road, and pulled in there to sleep, my comfort with sleeping in my vehicle ever increasing! Time to leave the mountains of Washington and head to the Oregon coast. My legs are certainly ready for the respite.

-Amanda

P.s. flowers are nice.