Dust Storms and Blowing Snow

Boundary Trail, 3/20/10, 8.5 miles, 800 elevation

Helen Thayer wrote in her account of Walking the Gobi about the endless wind carrying sand and rocks into every crack and crevice. I could almost sympathize after a hike along the Boundary Trail from the Hummocks to the Loowit Viewpoint on a particularly windy March day.

The volcanic landscape of Mt St Helens lends itself to this type of a comparison as life has barely taken root in the ash and pumice on the wind-swept slopes. As the winds whip around the tree-bare hills, it picks the tiny and not so tiny particles left from the last eruption 30 years ago.

The trail leads you through hummocks, mounds of ash and earth from inside the volcano deposited when the mountain blew out the north flanks. Then up the hill to Loowit Viewpoint - an perfectly unobstructed view. However the hiker will have magnificent views all along the trail. Along the way you will also find evidence of the forest's past when lumber was the primary industry - now industry belongs to tourism. From the Loowit Viewpoint, you can continue on the Boundary trail east into the Cascades.

Go before the Johnston Ridge Observatory is open in May and you are fairly guaranteed solitude.

Sunset Crater

10/5/09

Every now and then we stumble across a hidden gem while on a road trip. This trip we stumbled across two gems in the National Park Service that we never heard about. The first is Sunset Crater, a volcano that erupted centuries ago and disrupted the lives of the native peoples who lived in the area. The story of Sunset Crater still lives on in the narratives of local Indians.

Our stay would be overnight and it would be our coldest night on the road. We had a fabulous fire to warm ourselves before going to bed. I had hoped to stay up for star trails, but the temperatures were dipping into the low twenties. The fire and my sleeping bag sounded far more comforting that a chilly night beside the tripod.

In the morning, Michael & I explored the nature trail behind the volcano. We would have liked to make the climb, but the park service closed down climbing on the cinder hill when the trails created gaping scars in the slope. Thirty years later we could still see the scars in the hill.

It's a great little place to see and highly recommended a stop.

Around the Volcano

MSH Road Trip, 9/26/-9/27/09

I had been needing to collect a few images from a few of my favorite places in Washington for a project at work. This late in the season, heading to the North Cascades was out of the question - access would be limited. My next choice, Mt St Helens would be perfect for such a weekend. Although as we were heading out, what kind of weekend we weren't sure of for clouds obscured the hoped for clear autumn skies.

We rolled into Silver Lake in the late morning only to have the mountain view I was wanting hidden behind a layer of grey. Disappointed and losing faith in the weather, we quickly adjusted our plans and moved to the south side of the mountain not really expecting much. However, the farther we drove south, the clearer the skies became and when we swung around to the south side of the volcano blue skies with small wisps of clouds framed Mt St Helens. I was elated.

I wanted to stop at the Lahar Viewpoint and Ape Canyon. The trail through Ape Canyon had been closed since the 2006 floods but with diligent crews, some of them finishing up as I hiked, the trail re-opened with a bit of fanfare that same day. We later rested at Lahar Viewpoint and had lunch. Olympia & Zillah sniffing the elk tracks or begging some chips from us. We drove away from this area, happy with the images collected. Our next stops would be along the road to Windy Ridge.

I had not planned on being here in the afternoon as the sun would be in the wrong place for the best light. But I made do with what I had - grabbing a few shots here and there. Finally the sun began to set but the hoped for glorious sky would not be happening. The clouds that hovered to the west blocked much of the light show. We camped near Windy Ridge that night in hopes the sunrise would give us something better. The color may not have been the best, but the wildlife but on a concert for us. Elk just a few hundred feet away bugled and whistled. Beyond them in the valley could be heard coyotes and owls. Michael & I stood alone on the viewpoint soaking up the experience.

On our way home, we decided to drive a road neither of us had been on and found a pretty lake that the Forest Service is allowing to rehabilitate itself from the 1980 eruption. Later we passed a waterfall tucked away from the road. Its waters tumbling down the slope to a deep crystal pool. One last stop at Mt Rainier's Grove of the Patriarchs rounded out our whirlwind tour of Washington's most active volcano.