Slowing to sloth pace on the steepest of the uphills and several cars and trucks began racing passed me up the closed highway. Once I finally sagged into the lot a helicopter was just taking off in the direction of the mountain. Looked like they were staging a possible rescue up there? Either way, it was pretty incredible to watch as I readied for my own journey across the pumice plains:
Funny thing about bike locks, if you forget the code they're pretty much useless
At this point it was looking like maybe I should just keep the helmet on for the hike too. Anyway, helmets or not, it was a great day to be a Portland Hiker:
I took to one of the benches near the observatory for breakfast and read an old book about the eruption before starting the hike. It was an epic way to start the morning:
It was just me, the mountain and brother raven
Well, and some Elk tanning their butts in the morning sun:
For a while I thought I might as well just sit there all day and enjoy the summer like weather without the summer like crowds. Picnicking, wildlife viewing, gazing out at the mountain with a little reading etc. But that idea only lasted about an hour and I was off for the plains after saying goodbye to brother raven:
And saying hello to the crater of the mountain, where a seemingly new mountain is growing and changing everyday:
Hardly a drop of snow on Jonhston Ridge and the surrounding area as I made my way over to the Truman Trail:
Even the high peaks in the Mt Margaret Backcountry looked somewhat starved for snow:
Large Marge over some hummocks:
The patterns of erosion and the ever changing nature of the landscape just below the Truman junction never cease to amaze:
Near Langes Crest:
It also made for a pretty incredible place for some running, in January, shirtless in the mountains
Moving closer to the mountain and I kept thinking of a group of about 30 people that was permitted to visit Spirit Lake on the 17th of May, 1980, just a day before the big eruption. Apparently property owners along the lake were getting eager to enter the area and were finally allowed in by state officials on the 17th. They weren't allowed to stay overnight and were escorted in and out of the area. Talk about insane
All of a sudden, I took another look at the steaming dome in the center of the crater and asked myself, what the hell am I doing here!? 
One look over to Mt Adams and one over to the mighty Spirit Lake and the answer was simple:
I am always awestricken by the uniform nature in some of the volcanic debris, aliens maybe?
Not long after reaching the Loowit Trail and I arrived at the short spur up to Loowit Falls which sits around 4,800 - 4,900 feet:
The amazing falls, much like Coldwater Lake and so many other features we know on the mountain today owe their birth to a violent eruption that was over five-hundred times more powerful than an atomic bomb. An explosive event not often witnessed in our short lifetimes that serves as an incredible laboratory for all things scientific thanks to its preservation as a National Monument. And in this landscape, just a few hours drive from the city of Portland, sits maybe the most amazing and diverse terrain one could choose to recreate in. From regenerating forests to stands of old growth, from mud and pyroclastic flows to lahar and lava fields, glaciers and stream beds chalked full of pumice and ash, and of course the many plants and animals that call the area home, the monument is a place to be cherished and respected for the outstanding example of the natural world it wholly represents:
Looking over toward Goats Rock after lunch at the falls:
While walking back to the Truman Trail I remembered a segment on OFG about Elk in the monument. Apparently they have trouble meeting their nutritional needs thanks to many of the plantations in the surrounding areas returning to second growth forest, where there is less food available in the understory. This drives them to the open slopes of the mountain and nearby hills where they are having an immense impact on the growth of various types of plant species that are attempting to re-establish themselves in areas destroyed by the blast. One thing they mentioned was how the bulls really like to beat things up, this Douglas-Fir was a prime example:
Back near Spirit Lake and it sort of looked like a mirage:
Moon rising over the ridge:
And some macro stuff near the lake:
Willow leaves in a stream near Spirit Lake:
I took another break near a rock garden like setting with more great views of the backcountry:
And a boulder for Guy:
After the break and I finally spotted the mega herd:
Earlier in the day I managed to derp out and fall cutting open my finger a little bit back by Loowit Falls. By this point it was the 4th bandaid and obvious I should have just wrapped it up from the get go:
It was hard to leave a place filled with such beauty:
Is it summer?
The stream beds are lined with willow and alder, here are the male(upper) and female catkins from an alder:
Mt Adams and Spirit Lake:
More aliens and some of the trail back to JRO:
The moon continued to rise:
As the sun began to set:
Last light on Lady Loowit:
Back at JRO and time for the fun part
One last sunset shot from the Loowit viewpoint before the bomb back down to Coldwater Lake to close out the TR:
I wish I were unemployed and still able to pay for all the hiking 
