Mount St. Helens - Monitor Ridge — Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025

TL;DR: Start early, bring more water than you think you'll need, and stay left!

We arrived at Climbers Bivouac around 7:30 the night before our hike. The last ~2 miles of the road are full of potholes/washboarding, making for a particularly bumpy ride. There were about two dozen other cars at the trailhead when we arrived, leaving plenty of space for us to park and camp. Pit toilets did not have paper in the evening but were restocked by the time we finished the following afternoon.

We signed the register and started our hike just before 5 a.m. We popped out of the forest just before the sunrise, and stopped at the first section of boulders to take in beautiful views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood.

A Mount St. Helens Institute volunteer told us that most people reach the boulders and immediately begin scrambling, but if you stay left you'll find the more defined trail. "Stay left" became our rule of the day and saved us so much effort. We hiked steadily up the trail, keeping the wood markers and other hikers on the ridge in sight. We were able to complete most of the boulder field before the sun crested the ridge.

Once the boulders transitioned to smaller rocks and ash, our progress felt extra slow. We took small steps and frequent breaks. We reached the summit rim by 9:45 and enjoyed an early lunch.

It was already starting to get hot, so we headed down after 30 minutes at the rim. The ash field passed quickly. Route finding through the boulders was easier on the way down but still difficult. It was helpful to have work gloves to touch the hot/sharp rocks. About halfway between the two monitoring stations, we found a small stream with freezing cold water running right alongside the trail. Amazing!

The last two miles in the forest were so easy compared to everything else, plus there were ripe huckleberries! We returned to the trailhead by 2:15, making our total time 9 hours 20 minutes with about 30 minutes at the summit.

We both carried 4 liters of water and drank most of it. Shoutout to MSHI volunteer Beth for her helpful tips and being out there hiking on such a hot day to help people and provide extra water! There were three other volunteers out as well helping a dehydrated hiker. Thank you!!