2011 Edition
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We've been training for this one and looking forward to it for a long time!
Booked our hiking permit reservations on 7/21/11. We're very excited to be doing this!
Unfortunately, Julie wound up in the hospital two weeks before we were scheduled
to do this. She's home and on the mend now but her going on this hike at this time
is out of the question. So.... I am very reluctantly going alone, to scout the
trail so at least one of us will know the way when she's ready to make this climb
with me.
The trailhead is at 3,800 feet which means you have a 4,565 foot climb to get to the
8,365' summit.
The Lone Fir Resort in Cougar is where you pick up your passes and sign the
registry. Passes can only be reserved via the Internet and you can only obtain
the physical passes within 24 hours of your climb. The Lone Fir opens at 06:00
which allows sufficient time to get to Climbers Bivouac by sunrise.
It's supposed to be at record high temperatures..in the low 90's... so LOTS of
water will need to come along. On the plus side, I doubt I will need much in the
way of warm clothing and getting caught in a blizzard seems unlikely.
GETTING THERE: Take I-5 to the Woodland, Washington exit. Travel East on SR 503
for 26 miles. 503 ends in Cougar. There is gas in Cougar and lots of gas stations
in Woodland. Alternately, you can get to Cougar from Carson or Randle via paved
Forest Roads. Once you have your pass, head to Climbers Bivouac which is off
of FR 83... the road to Ape Caves and Lava Canyon. Easy to find with lots of
signs. The three mile long, steep uphill road to Climbers Bivouac is gravel.
Made it!!!!!!!!!
The view up at the rim is amazing. You can look right down into the crater.
Everything around you seems so dead and barren yet the mountain is alive spewing
steam and creating frequent landslides. It was well worth the arduous climb to get
up here as well as the weeks of training to prepare for this trek.
The view to the right
The view to the left. You can actually hike quite a ways to the left of the
ascent trail, along the rim's Monitor Ridge.
Today was a record high temperature day. Fortunately, there was a lot of cloud
cover until mid-day which helped keep things cooler. The down side was that views
of Mount Rainier (to the left on the above picture) was pretty obscured.
I got a guy up here to take my picture so I can prove to the Mazamas that I was here..
Here's a view looking back at the last 1/2 mile or so of the trail up here. It's
VERY steep and VERY sandy... tough going up and back down.
There were several slides in just the brief time that I was up here. Here's a
picture of one of them. Very loud and somewhat unnerving since it's probably doing
the same thing right under our feet....
Here's some pictures taken earlier in the morning, on the way up.
Sunrise over Mount Adams.
After a fairly easy 1.6 mile hike through the forest, you start ascending along
this rock field. This bit is actually "easy" compared to what's to come.
These pictures give some idea just how steep and sandy the last mile or so is.
The mile or so of boulders is actually easier than this last sandy bit.
The Mount Saint Helens climb is not impossibly difficult... I did it, after all
and I am not exactly what you would call an expert hiker. You do need to be prepared
both in terms of equipment and physical ability. This is not a venture for people
who don't already have a few hills under their belts. Mount Defiance and Table
Mountain would be good hikes to take before you attempt this one. There are no
particular technical challenges to this climb... but it is definitely grueling.
Here is a
GPS TPX track file.
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