Mount St. Helens - Worm Flows Route — Saturday, May. 4, 2013

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

Had to drive out there from Seattle and was able to head out only at 3:30. Picked up the permits from the Lone Fir resort and cafe at about 7:30 and were on the trail by 9:00 AM. The first couple of miles were pretty easy with a lot of firm snow. Once we hit the treeline, the snow started to get softer and we were postholing a lot. Especially since the sun was out, the snow was slushy and hard to climb. It took us close to 6 hours to get to the top. We reached the top at about 3 PM and were treated with spectacular views of Rainier and Adams. Hood was visible in the distance but was hazy. We were able to glissade down right from the top to almost the treeline. Walked the last couple of miles and were back at the trailhead by 6 PM. Great hike, but I'd recommend starting out early so that you can get some firm snow to walk on. We carried crampons but never had to use them. My boots sufficed for the entire trip. The ice axe was handy while glissading and trying to practice some self arrest maneuvers. And yes, made a mistake by not carrying sunglasses. Was snow blind the next day and it wasnt pleasant at all. Make sure you carry sun glasses on snow.