18 miles of hiking • 3750' elevation gain •
Another great day in the blast zone! Did the "classic" loop, going up South Coldwater Ridge past several logging relics destroyed in the 1980 eruption, ultimately winding up to Saint Helens Lake for the ultimate "lunch with a view!" After that, our descent slid progressively into the tourist (flipflops and spandex) zone as we meandered closer and closer to Johnston Ridge Observatory. Actually, there's a lot of beautiful scenery in this segment, but it's funny running into so many folks after being nearly all alone for the first segment. Grabbed a quick snack at JRO, then continued down the Boundary Trail back to the Hummocks trailhead.
There were some mosquitoes along the north side of South Coldwater Ridge, and it seems the wildflower show at JRO is just a bit past peak. That said, there were lots of wildflowers along the entire loop, just not in the jaw-dropping multitudes that happen for a week or so in late June.
These seem to be some of the hardest 18 miles out there. Most of them are subject to extreme exposure. We also battled fairly high humidity, so though the clouds offered a bit of respite from the sun, the extra moisture probably sucked even more energy out of us. One of the best loops out there!
