Mount Margaret — Sunday, Jul. 28, 2024

We camped for one night (Sat July 27) at Margaret Camp. There are 2 tent pads, and it's a good thing we were the only people there because one of the pads was almost completely under snow still (and it was super wet and muddy all around it). The other tent pad was half under snow, but there was a dry patch right next to it so we put our tent there. (See photo)

The only running water is at Bear Camp, and that water is definitely seasonal so I wonder if it will still be there in 2 weeks. We filled up extra bottles we'd brought and just carried the extra weight the final miles to Margaret Camp.

THE WILDFLOWERS ARE AMAZING. So many varieties, all at peak bloom right now. Red paintbrush and purple lupine were most abundant. I don't think I've ever seen so much paintbrush in one area! Absolutely gorgeous.

There are quite a lot of wild strawberries, but extremely small (stunted? or maybe they'll get bigger soon?). I'd be cautious about eating any super close to the trail (so dusty) or where goats might be. Blueberries will probably be ripe in another 2 weeks, although I don't really know what I'm talking about. :) We ate the only 3 early ripe ones -- high up, in a safe spot -- and they were delicious!

There are only a few small, easy to cross snow patches (not worth marking that snow is intermittent).

We saw over 20 mountain goats in less than 30 minutes, right next to and shortly past Mount Margaret. One of them was not happy to see us (the first time I've ever felt intimidated by a goat!) so we quickly backtracked out of sight and then made a lot of noise until it scampered off the trail. So much shedded goat hair in the bushes and trees, too. Lots of baby goats :)

Lots and lots of flies, but not the biting kind. However the trailhead was just swarming with them and I couldn't help but think about how they have all probably landed on the waste inside the toilets at some point. Speaking of, toilets were out of paper both when we arrived Sat afternoon and when we returned Sun afternoon.

There is a super washed out section of trail shortly after Norway Pass. Honestly it was a little hard (and scary) for me, but people with longer legs might have an easier time. I wish WTA could put in some wooden planks. There are also many extremely overgrown stretches between the trailhead and Norway Pass, which made me nervous about ticks. (WTA, can you go out and trim it back? Thank you thank you!)

Anyway, go enjoy those wildflowers now!!! Mount St. Helens is fantastic. :)