Mt St Helen's via Monitor Ridge (7-19-2014)
Posted: July 20th, 2014, 9:56 pm
8 years ago we did this hike with our two oldest children but by the time we got to the top, the clouds had rolled in and we couldn't even see into the crater.
Here's the four of us back in 2006 at the rim:
This time around the weather was a little better. Along for the ride were our two youngest, our oldest, Anthony who was with us 8 years ago, a niece who flew out from Utah to join us, and 3 friends of our family. We started out from Climber's Bivouac at 8:30AM. The first 2 miles is through forest as the trail climbs about 900ft to about the 4800 ft level. Here's Mt Hood sticking up over the clouds to the south:
Once out of the forest, the fun begins. From here on up, it's follow the posts that mark the route up the scree field at the top.
Here's the first boulder field as we came out of the trees:
A little further up we were able to see Mt Rainer to the east:
Some of the boulder fields are steeper than others. Here's Isabel working her way up:
Still a long way to go...
At the rim. Anthony (in red) and Ben:
Isabel made it! It was a rough day for her but she did it.
My wife slogging up the last section of scree. I don't know how people do this section without trekking poles.
A panorama from the rim. The summit is the high-point to the left another 400ft or so up.
Here's another shot of the summit. I didn't see anyone going up there but you can see some boot tracks in the snow. That's Ben and his buddy Nate over there.
The east wall of the crater:
We lingered at the rim for a good while enjoying the views but the wind finally drove us back down. I think the trip down is just as tough as the trip up. The same boulder fields that were "fun" to climb up now need to be down-climbed.
As we went down. the clouds rolled. Here's our parting view as we entered back into the forest:
This is one tough hike but definitely worth the $22/permit to do it. Isabel even managed to smile as she walked into the parking lot
More photos from the hike are here: http://smu.gs/1yOCmXP
http://gpsfly.org/gps_map.php?gps_id=3490&w=645&h=440
Here's the four of us back in 2006 at the rim:
This time around the weather was a little better. Along for the ride were our two youngest, our oldest, Anthony who was with us 8 years ago, a niece who flew out from Utah to join us, and 3 friends of our family. We started out from Climber's Bivouac at 8:30AM. The first 2 miles is through forest as the trail climbs about 900ft to about the 4800 ft level. Here's Mt Hood sticking up over the clouds to the south:
Once out of the forest, the fun begins. From here on up, it's follow the posts that mark the route up the scree field at the top.
Here's the first boulder field as we came out of the trees:
A little further up we were able to see Mt Rainer to the east:
Some of the boulder fields are steeper than others. Here's Isabel working her way up:
Still a long way to go...
At the rim. Anthony (in red) and Ben:
Isabel made it! It was a rough day for her but she did it.
My wife slogging up the last section of scree. I don't know how people do this section without trekking poles.
A panorama from the rim. The summit is the high-point to the left another 400ft or so up.
Here's another shot of the summit. I didn't see anyone going up there but you can see some boot tracks in the snow. That's Ben and his buddy Nate over there.
The east wall of the crater:
We lingered at the rim for a good while enjoying the views but the wind finally drove us back down. I think the trip down is just as tough as the trip up. The same boulder fields that were "fun" to climb up now need to be down-climbed.
As we went down. the clouds rolled. Here's our parting view as we entered back into the forest:
This is one tough hike but definitely worth the $22/permit to do it. Isabel even managed to smile as she walked into the parking lot
More photos from the hike are here: http://smu.gs/1yOCmXP
http://gpsfly.org/gps_map.php?gps_id=3490&w=645&h=440