Information about this hike provided in partnership with
Mountaineers Books.
Copyright © Dan A. Nelson/The Mountaineers Books Boundary West
Featured In:
Day Hiking: South Cascades,
by Dan A. Nelson and Alan L. Bauer.
A portion of all book sales from the links above benefits WTA and helps protect and maintain our trails. Head east on the Hummocks Trail, and in 0.5 mile you'll reach a trail junction. Go left to climb the ash-laden ridge snout of Johnston Ridge. Grasses, bushes, and trees are filling in the devastation, and that has brought an array of wildlife. You can commonly see elk tracks-and often elk themselves-on the flank of Johnston Ridge. After leaving the Hummocks Trail and the convoluted valley floor, the trail crawls up the end of Johnston Ridge, climbing steeply through long, lazy switchbacks to gain a respectable 1000 feet in the first mile of serious climbing. The next 1.5 miles climb an additional 800 feet, putting you at the Loowit Viewpoint at the west end of Johnston Ridge, near a long hairpin turn in the highway. This makes a fine place to stop for a rest, a bit of reflection on the scenery, and a return to the starting point. Of course, if you had the foresight to arrange a ride back from the Johnston Ridge Observatory, you should press on along the ridge trail. You'll reach the observatory in just 0.8 mile with another couple hundred feet of elevation gain.
Driving Directions:
From Castle Rock, drive about 43 miles east on Highway 504 to the Coldwater Visitor Center and continue 2.2 miles south toward Johnston Ridge. At the bottom of the hill, turn right into the Hummocks trailhead parking area. If two cars are available, you can drive one to the Johnston Ridge Observatory to do this as a one-way trek. Recent Trip Reports
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Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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Combined this with the hummocks trail before kayaking in coldwater lake. Great views, on a hot and sunny day. Lots...
Combined this with the hummocks trail before kayaking in coldwater lake. Great views, on a hot and sunny day. Lots of wildflowers.
Boundary West (#1), Boundary Trail Traverse
— Oct 19, 2010
— twopaddles
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming | Fall foliage
Issues:
Overgrown | No water source
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This hike starts at the Johnston Ridge Observatory and follows the Boundary Trail (#1) east 4.8 miles to the junction...
This hike starts at the Johnston Ridge Observatory and follows the Boundary Trail (#1) east 4.8 miles to the junction with the Coldwater Trail (#230). Follow the Coldwater Trail north & then west 2.3 miles to the junction with the South Coldwater Trail (#230A), then follow this trail 3.1 miles down to the trailhead along State Hwy. 504. The hike requires a short car shuttle between the two trailheads.
Our group of 11 hikers from Olympia started from Johnston Ridge Observatory on a perfect, clear October morning. About 1.5 miles along the Bpoundary trail, there is a long traverse on the sidehill of a steep ridge above the pumice plain below. The trail here is a good condition, but the lond slope below can be intimidating. Just past this spot, we saw a herd of some 40 elk far below, with the stunning view into the Mt. St. Helens crater filling the horizon to the south. Trail #1 drops to a low junction, then climbs through debris piles deposited by the gigantic 5/18/80 landslide. In another mile or so, we reached a saddle on the ridge with grand views of the northern arms of Spirit Lake below, and Mt. Adams beyond. Now the trail climbs steadily some 1,000 feet. Mt Hood soon is visible to the SE. The trail climbs to a spur ridge above St. Helens Lake, rimmed by a steep basin, and partly covered by downed trees from the great blast. The trail descends slightly to punch through a natural arch in the ridge, then winds around several dramatic pinnacles to the junction with trail #230. 4 volcanoes are visible along this stretch. From the junction, trail #230 climbs through a saddle & descends through more of the blast zone, with fine views of Coldwater Peak. At a low, barren saddle, the trail abruptly turns right & traverses the north slope of a side drainage of Coldwater Creek. This turn is not marked, & could easily be missed particularly in cloudy conditions. Trail #230 then drops to the junction with trail #230A. Turn left at this junction, and climb gently to gain the crest of the ridge between Coldwater and South Coldwater creeks. Soon there are fine views to Coldwater Lake below. About 1 mile before the trail ends, pass the sobering rem,ains of heavy equipment from a logging operation that was destroyed by the 5/18/80 blast. In a bit more than 10 miles, this circuit hike delivers a grand tour through the blast zone, outstanding views in all directions, and interesting looks at the recovering vegetation. The trail is generally in good condition, although the last 3 miles are somewhat brushy. Leave a car at the South Coldwater trailhead on your way to Johnston ridge, and finish the trip with an easy car shuttle that takes only 20 minutes or so.
Boundary West
— Aug 13, 2010
— el tigre
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
No water source
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Our goal was the end of Harry's Ridge, but the very hot weather plus a bad move (I locked my...
Our goal was the end of Harry's Ridge, but the very hot weather plus a bad move (I locked my keys in the car) combined to shorten our trip. We hiked from Johnston Ridge to the junction of the Boundary Trail and the Truman Trail - about 4.5 miles roundtrip. The trail is hot, dusty, windy, very dry, and quite exposed in 2-3 places. Definitely not recommended for acrophobes or very young children. The rest of the trail is good tread. Once you get about 1.5 miles out from Johnston Ridge there's almost no one on the trail; you have views of Mt Adams, Spirit Lake, and the gaping crater of St. Helens all to yourself.
Some lupine and paintbrush and fireweed are in show. Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
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What a difference a few weeks makes! Three weeks ago my 6 year-old daughter and I hiked up to...
What a difference a few weeks makes! Three weeks ago my 6 year-old daughter and I hiked up to St. Helens Lake. The trail was mostly clear, but snow above 4,500' and the lake was still frozen.
Saturday was a much different setting, with wildflowers ablaze across the landscape from the very begining of the trail. There has been a very in-depth trip report for this area recently, so I won't go into too many details. The trail is dry all the way to the lake and no bugs to speak of. Flowers were strong at the higher elevations along the trail. This is an excellent time to visit!
Boundary West
— Jul 16, 2010
— kjs
Day hike
Features:
Wildflowers blooming
Issues:
Snow on trail
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Went up from Portland for a quick overnighter in the Mt Margaret back country. Started at Johnston Ridge heading...
Went up from Portland for a quick overnighter in the Mt Margaret back country. Started at Johnston Ridge heading for Dome Camp. Wildflowers, especially paintbrush prevalent up to 4500 feet. Didn't encounter any on trail snow until just after the rock arch. Occasional snow on trail from there until camp but nothing difficult to cross. Lots of signs of elk from N of St Helens Lake on but we didn't see any. Both of the sites at Dome Camp were melted out though there is plenty of snow in the vicinity of the camp. Margaret camp's sites appeared to still be snow covered but probably not by next weekend. Beautiful area and highly recommended.
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Brilliant blue Coldwater Lake, near the start of the Hummocks Trail. Photo: Hikingqueen
2011
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