Coldwater (MSH) parking / snowshoe

[fettster]

I'm thinking about driving to the end of Spirit Lake highway(504) to where it's closed by Coldwater Lake. Does anyone know if any type of Sno-Park permit is required. Are there some reasonable goals to snowshoe to from the parking area?

[Peder]

It is a great place for a snowshoe - I even had my 85 y.o. out snowshoeing there earlier this month! No permits needed and heated restrooms available at the Coldwater Lake TH. The best snowshoe is to go up the South Coldwater trail from the Hummocks TH (the first 1/2 mile follows the gated road), there you can enjoy great views and destroyed logging equipment. An alternative would be to do the Hummocks loop trail.

With my mother we also hiked to the Sediment Retention Dam in the afternoon and came across 200 elk - it is (IMO) not unlikely that there are still good chances of meeting them there.

[fettster]

Would the logging equipment be largely covered by snow right now? It looks like South Coldwater largely heads up the ridge.

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=46.29017,-12 ... 5C%2C%20or

I guess you just walk as far as you want along the ridge and head back? I see Fawn Lake just to the north. Do you know if the views up there would be worth effort?

[kepPNW]

Would the logging equipment be largely covered by snow right now?

That ridge is pretty windswept, so the equipment should be sticking out. Here are two examples from a couple different years. (Click through either to get more photos from the day, especially the sunnier one for views.)

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  9-Feb-2013
  
  
  30-Dec-2015

It looks like South Coldwater largely heads up the ridge. I guess you just walk as far as you want along the ridge and head back?

You sure could, yep! Would suggest the best turn-around in what I call "the saddle" (roughly: 46.3010, -122.1945), but turning around anytime before that's of course an option as well. That said, if you're extremely adventurous, you could continue on to Saint Helens Lake and return via Johnston Ridge something like this: http://www.PortlandHikers.org/forum/vie ... =8&t=14740

I see Fawn Lake just to the north. Do you know if the views up there would be worth effort?

Sadly, that's private (timber company) land.

[fettster]

Sadly, that's private (timber company) land.

Bummer on Fawn Lake! I didn't see any pictures of MSH in your linked pictures. Are they pretty much blocked by the ridge and neighboring Johnston Ridge to the south?

[kepPNW]

Sadly, that's private (timber company) land.

Bummer on Fawn Lake!

Yeah, I'd love to go exploring up there. Seems like a natural way to get to/from Minnie Peak, too.

I didn't see any pictures of MSH in your linked pictures. Are they pretty much blocked by the ridge and neighboring Johnston Ridge to the south?

Sorry, it probably wasn't too easy to navigate to the album for either day. Especially if Flickr isn't familiar. Here's a direct link to the sunny day (12/30/15) trip, where we didn't even make it all the way to the saddle. You can see MSH is still somewhat obscured at the logging equipment, but becomes more visible as you go higher. As good as it got that day:

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  Johnston Ridge is still blocking the lowest portions of MSH, several miles in.

I'd definitely urge you to continue on to the saddle, shown here:

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  The saddle is just below that shaded triangle beyond me in this photo.
  Coldwater Peak beyond.

From there, the view is:

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  Direct link to album showing entire Saint Helens Lake snowshoe loop.

[fettster]

Yeah, I'd love to go exploring up there. Seems like a natural way to get to/from Minnie Peak, too.

Looking at the topo map it appears you could still skirt along the edge of the monument boundary to catch the ridge to Minnie Peak. Perhaps with no snow that wouldn't be practical with whatever ground cover there is, but I assume with snow it would be doable.

[fettster]

Nix the off trail idea to get to Minnie Peak. Apparently no off trail travel is allowed there even in the winter. Heads up that dogs are not allowed either on that north side of the monument (fyi).