Mount St. Helens - Monitor Ridge — Thursday, Sep. 5, 2013

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

Sep 5th finally arrived and I get my shot at St Helens. If there was a single hike that I needed clear skies this was the one. But that was not to be. Cloud cover obscured the crater and most of the hike but that does not take away from the joy of climbing to the crater rim. I, York and Ferguson started this hike in the late morning and quickly set off to summit and return before the expected rain showers. Thankfully it did not rain till we completed the hike. The route started in the forest and quickly cleared to the upper portions of the mountain which is covered in large boulders and gravel. Mid to high top shoes would helpful on this hike to avoid hitchhikers entering your footwear. I wore my gaiters which worked well. Although I usually go without them, I highly recommend using hiking poles for this hike. The terrain is loose and uneven all the way to the top and I was grateful for having them. The trail itself is very straight forward; just follow the snow markers along the spur that climbs the South face. The trail is not restrictive you may at any time drift away a bit from the trail or trails and just climb the mountain. When we did explore the large boulder areas we packed up the poles and donned the gloves which helped a lot more for negotiating and keeping a grip on the rocks. Beware some of these large boulders are precariously balancing on others so test it before you grab it full on. I read in other posts that there is no water source on the mountain so I carried 3 liters which was sufficient. But I did notice, as I have on all mountains, that if you encounter a large snow patch or glacier there will be water flowing below it. That was the case on St Helens. There are three or so large ice formations along the route that melted a sufficient enough stream to pump/filter from. At the top, we were greeted by the inside of a cloud and some high wind. So we just relaxed for a minute and enjoyed a snack. As we ate the peace was broken several times by the sound of falling rock into the crater. One in particular was very loud and obviously loosed more earth above and below it. It was eerie to hear the large landfall into the crater but not see it. I can’t wait to return and maybe catch site of another. Overall Mount St Helens it not a long or overly difficult hike. But it is one I highly recommend. I will be returning at a later date to get a look into the crater. Till then happy hiking ya’ll.