It seemed like a good time to go for hike on the volcano. We started in the early morning from the Johnston Ridge Observatory.
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| There were views of Mt. St. Helens right away |
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| Still pretty barren thirty six years after the eruption |
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| A few trees struggling to survive, but not enough to provide any shade |
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| Beautiful lupines |
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| Our first views of Spirit Lake in the distance |
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| Leaving the Boundary Trail to head north toward Harry's Ridge |
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| More barren fields of pumice and lava |
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| Mount Margaret in the distance |
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| Pearly everlasting flowers letting us know that summer is past its peak |
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| Trail marker for Harry's Ridge |
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| Coming up the ridge |
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| And higher |
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| Mt. Adams and Spirit Lake from Harry's Ridge |
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| From Harry's Ridge, you can see the new dome arising from the crater! |
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| Keith on top of Harry's Ridge, 4752' elevation |
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| Another look at Mt. Adams from Harry's Ridge |
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| And Mt.. Hood faintly in the distance |
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| Plenty of ripe blueberries on the ridge trail |
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| Up close and personal with the lava dome |
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| One last look at the mountain on the way out. |
Easily, this was the best Mt. St. Helens hike we have ever done.
Stats:
Round trip=9 miles
Elevation gain (counting ups and down both ways) = 2000feet
Date hiked=August 16, 2017
4 comments:
This is gorgeous! I've been wanting to check out Helens for a while now. We are definitely going to copy you on this hike! I especially love the new growing dome, awesome to see the Earth reforming.
I loved that too, and I was so happy that Keith pointed that out to me.
Great pictures - I especially like the one with Spirit Lake and Mt. Adams in the background.
BTW, did Dad ever see Mt. St. Helens before the eruption? (I'm guessing you didn't, Mom.)
Thanks, Byron. Dad did see Mt. St. Helens before the eruption. He says it was gorgeous and he climbed nearly to the top in about 1969.
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