Butte Camp — Saturday, Jul. 7, 2012

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

This was a great trail, but if you're hiking in the summer bring bug spray! At the beginning of the trail there are beautiful views of the mountain as you hike through the bolder field. We passed through several fields where there were a few wildflowers. We had hoped for more, but I guess there weren't that many in bloom this year. We then entered the forest and began a steady descent up for the next 2 miles or so. Though beautiful, we had unfortunately not prepared for the mosquitos. We found that we had to keep a pretty brisk pace in order to keep from being eaten. Still, it was beautiful and there were patches where views of the mountain would break through the trees. The smells were wonderful. At about the 2.5 mile mark we reached the Butte. This provided an excellent spot for resting a bit, and the mosquitoes thinned out significantly. Take care climbing up with kids as the ashy ground can be slippery. We had not planned to continue up the trail to tree line, but we wouldn't have been able to if we had wanted. The trail was pretty heavily snowed over from the Butte onward. We were carrying two young children in Kelty backpacks for the trip and found the trail very accommodating. It is well marked and in good condition. Besides climbing the Butte I don't recall any spots where I had unsteady footing. Take plenty of water in warm weather. There is a stream about 1/3 mile before the Butte if you plan to hike longer and have some kind of water purification system.