33 miles of hiking • 0' elevation gain • 1 night
pics now on flickr: pieterpan
Started from June Lake (pond) headed for the Loowit Trail, which encirlces Mt. St. Helens. Climbed over the Worm Flows heading west. This was slow. After crossing Monitor Ridge climbing route the trail exits the forest. From here until the Restricted Area there were a lot of steep snowbanks to cross. When the trail leveled out I switched to sandals, which was foolish, because I had the worst snowbanks ahead. No water sources from Butte Camp Trail to South Fork Toutle River.
Descending to the SFTR and ascending out of the gully is treacherous. After the following lightly forested area is a long section along a sandy bank of the gully. Really, you are hundreds of feet above the river on a trail that is less than a foot wide that is sand and pea gravel. After getting to the top, you are almost in the Restricted Area; a flat area with good views that has space for camping (outside the RA, of course).
The north side is broad, and desert-like. The center of that, the main path of destruction has almost no plants, just varying colors of basalt and other volcanic rock. You can take a side trail to the Toutle Falls. Crossing this area goes from lupine covered slopes, a sharp line where it changes to stark, then back again.
The eastern side has the Plains of Abraham, which is good for mountain biking. There are many gullies, but some have interesting waterfalls from snowmelt falling a good distance to a deeper gully.
At many points you can see Mt. Rainier, the North Cascades National Park peaks, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood. Since I got moving at 7 am the second day, I saw elk tracks, and smelled fairly fresh droppings. I was surprised to discover a herd of 20, which was joined by 10 more soon thereafter. Later I came upon a herd of 130, and 20 more further away. 180 elk in one morning! This trail was full of surprises. The first day was rough, and slow going. The terrain overall contains all the above, and old growth forests. Fantastic journey!
Will comment later when I add pics to flickr
Comments
Kyle Meyer
August 5, 2011
Pictures of the billions of elk please!
Josh Mayer
August 10, 2011
Only one pic of a handful of elk. I wore anti-traction devices called flip-flops on the snow. Route finding was relatively easy on snow and through forests. You can choose your own adventure across the "worm flows" and boulders if you can't spot the next cairn.
Roman
August 5, 2011
180 elk is impressive! And I bet you didn't see nearly as many people on this trail.
Did you use any traction devices on steep snow? How was the route finding on the west side?