Trip Reports

We returned to Mt. St. Helens to retrieve two packs from a recent backpacking trip with my brother-in-law that ended badly when I injured my ankle. We had dropped one of the packs on the Lakes Trail about eight miles from the Coldwater Lake boat launch. I was in touch with the Forest Service folks to let them know that we had littered up their backcountry, and they were kind enough to retrieve that pack and bring it back to the visitor center. Half our work was done as soon as we got there! We had left the other pack off trail, just shy of the Lakes and Coldwater Trails junction. Apparently we hid it a little too well, as the rangers couldn’t find it. I actually walked past it the first time, but doubled back a short way and found it right where we had left it -- intact, dry and dusty.

The weather and views were almost identical to what we had two weeks prior -- hot with blue, cloudless skies. Mt. St. Helens pumped out a steady stream of gray smoke. The frequent stream crossings were most welcome for a quick dip-of-the-hat.

Starting from the boat launch, this is a pleasant walk along the North shore of Coldwater Lake with not much gain. Otherwise, there’s not much to recommend it as a dayhike. There is lake access and secluded fishing spots from the shore at about 1 and 3 miles in. The mileage from the boat launch to the Coldwater Lake Trail junction is a bit of a question mark. The signage on the trail says it’s six miles, but the Green Trails map puts it closer to five. Since this is my last hike for the Hike-A-Thon, I’ll split the difference and call it eleven miles round-trip! ;-)

At the far end of Coldwater Lake the trail is a little bushy and faint. After the lake the trail goes up into the canyon, where I saw 3 different elk herds. As it goes up the hillside the trail is narrow as it crosses some small landslides. The scene at Snow Lake is just terrific, with the old fallen trees from the blast, and the leaves turning color. 100 feet uphill from Snow Lake it was snowing pretty hard, about 3 inches on the ground. I camped at Shovel Lake, and as I approached Shovel Lake a coyote walked within 12 feet of me, pretty cool. Some of the snow had melted overnight. On the way back I watched several elk hike up and over the ridge, and watched two male elk sparing off.

Me and my son, Ford did the loop counterclockwise, starting at the South Coldwater Trailhead. Was a very nice hot day to do the loop of trails 230A, 230 and 211. We met my boyfriend halfway at the lake access on 211 near the inlet stream-he was out kayaking Coldwater Lake! He brought us a tasty picnic lunch to feast on. Be very forewarned-this trail is 9 1/2 miles of hot, dry land- and where there is vegetation it is very overgrown and humid! But you get oh so lovely views of Mt. St. Helen and the lake. Kudos to the WTA work party out doing trail maintance.

We hiked the loop starting at Coldwater Lake boat launch around to the south coldwater lake trailhead and back up the road to the start (~11 miles). The hike runs along the lake for 4.5 miles, and then turns down to cross the lake inlet. The trail then climbs up the ridge on the other side of the lake and passes old tree farming machinery. Apparently they were actively clear cutting the area before the blast. The trail follows the ridge, good views of the lake and the mountain (facing the crater).

The trail is really open, which is good for views but since we were facing east in the morning and west in the afternoon, bad for sunburn and heat.

We saw lots of elk tracks and droppings, but no elks. Also we saw very few people (1 on the lake shore and 3 on the ridge). Although I guess it's crowded later in the summer. There was no trace of snow so this is a good early hike.

On my way back from Oregon, i decided to stop at St. Helens, figuring this would be a good time of the year to visit. The park aint exactly known for its fall foliage, so i figured it would be quiet. I was right, since the park was virtually deserted despite sunny skies and temps around 60 degrees! I set off up the South Coldwater trail up the ridge, where one can see the remnants of logging equipment destroyed by the blast. Just past Ridge Camp i saw a herd of about 50 elk climbing single file up the next ridge. The trail beyond Ridge Camp is on a steep slope at times and i wouldnt recommend it for those afraid of heights. Snow was in patches on the ridge top, mostly covering the trail (which made locating the trail easy!) I kept walking on the Boundary trail about a mile past a rock tunnel that the trail passes through. Great views of Adams, Hood, Rainier, and Spirit/Helens Lakes. On the way back i couldnt resist scrambling about 800 feet up Coldwater Peak from the south, to puzzle over the solar panels that are on top. trip stats: ~14 miles; 3,500 ft. The top story on the 11pm news that night was how there have been 2oo+ earthquakes at the Mountain over the past 24 hrs; the most since 1998. I didnt notice any of them (and seemingly neither did the elk). Great hiking day and didn't see a soul all day!

This trail can be accessed from the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center in the Mt. St. Helen's Monument area. I normally avoid ""high intensity"" places like this, but thought I would drive up and check it out. It turns out that the ""Forest Pass"" we pay $30 for each year is recognized. Just drop into the visitor center, show them your ""wallet version of the pass"" and they will annoint your left wrist with a tag that gives you full access to all monument trails...... Though this place is undoubtedly crawling with tourists during the summer season, it was pretty much deserted today. This, even though the weather was nice and the views quite spectacular. There were less than a dozen cars in the ""visitor center"" parking lot and I met no one else on the trail... There appeared to be one vehicle in the parking lot at the west end of the lake that provides access for anglers.

I walked 4 or 5 miles of the trail that follows the North Shore of Coldwater Lake. Trail is in good condition and not quite as flat as one might expect a ""lakeshore trail"" to be. It has to do some ups and down to skirt bluffs that drop straight down into the lake. Got a ways past the end of the lake and saw 4 bull Elk resting very comfortably on a sand bar near the main stream feeding the lake. In order not to disturb them, I turned around and headed back......

Coldwater Lake is at about 2500 foot of elevation and the ""Visitor Center"" is about 500 feet above the lake.... so this is a good ""late or early"" season spot. They keep the center open year round. Snow plows are available to keep the access road clear....

Coldwater Trail and then some. Volcano and hurricane all in one day! Headed out with two new hiking buddies that I have been lucky enough to meet this year. Bev and Pat. Both great gals and great fun. The drive was nice in spite of the fog and icy patches on the road. We reached the trailhead about 9am. The sun was shining brightly and it was already warm hiking uphill. The wind was blowing very hard though. When we went around one corner and neared the ridgeline we started to turn back. After a dicussion we went on a little further. At about 1 1/2 miles we topped the ridge and were nearly blown down. We then decided to abort and find a low level trail out of the wind. This was our first hike with Pat and she was probably wondering what we were getting her into. Bev and I are on the adventurious side to say the least. Her even more than me I think. We went to the new Johnson Ridge Visitor Center and watched the movie and did tourist stuff for about 1/2 hour. Then we headed down to the Toutle River to hike. We pulled off and headed down a road towards the river. There is a large parking area on the north side of the road and we parked on the other side. There is a wagon ride that goes down here during the tourist season. Not sure if you call it a trail but we were soon crossing swamps and humits in search of elk. There is no stopping three women in searc of game. At one point we would have been thrilled to see a horse. After about 2 hrs we gave up and headed back up the road. Great hike. Somewhere between 6 and 16 miles, depends who and when you talk to about it. Stopping at Castle Rock on the way out we found out from the ranger that there were gust over 70mph that morning on the Coldwater Trail. Who says hiking season is over. My snowshoes are waiting by the door.