Blast Zone expedition

[mrblisterdundee]

Another poster on Oregon Hikers said crampons and an ice axe were still needed for places like Coldwater Peak, so I opted for a longer, lower-elevation expedition from Johnston Ridge Observatory and through the blast zone to the eastern flank of Mount St. Helens to see of the wildflowers were coming in on the Plains of Abraham. I turned around about 1 mile short after running into a steep portion of snow crossing with a big dropoff below, but it was still a nice jaunt.
This was my first time in the blast zone, which was chock-full of wildflowers.

There was a pair of birds flying around together amid the flowers. I attempted to get a picture of their playing, but they were too fast. Finally, one started flying against the wind, slowing it down to a gentle up and down.

The flowers provided a nice frame for Spirit Lake, along with the snowy Mt. Margaret Backcountry above.

Loowit Falls was in full force, although I just passed by from a distance on my way to the Abraham Trail.

At the end of the blast zone before climbing onto the ridges, I had two choices for getting to the Plains of Abraham: Windy Pass or a series of gulleys on the other side of a wind-swept ridge. The solid snow pack I could see on Windy Pass made the choice easy.

The Abraham Trail follows the top of a wind-blasted ridge with wonderful views of St. Helens and the Dog's Head, but with a constant tug and pull of the wind with big falls waiting on either side.

About 1 mile away from the Plains of Abraham, and after slipping down one snow field, I ran into an even bigger field covering a gulley that emptied out into a big drop at the bottom. Most of it fine, but there was a steeper section at the end. With no traction devices, and with an ominous cloud blowing toward me over St. Helens, I aired on the side of caution and turned around.
On the way back, I looked over my shoulder after noticing the top of Mt. Margaret peeking at me over the ridges.

Plains of Abraham or no, it was a solid 18-mile hike with some areas of the mountain I hadn't seen before. My microspikes are supposed to arrive in the mail this week, so I'll probably be back later this month. If you're looking for the route, CalTopo provides a pretty comprehensive listing of trails. I just drew a rectangle around the area I was traversing and saved it as a PDF.

[jtrekkie3]

Which trailhead did you start from?

[mrblisterdundee]

Which trailhead did you start from?

Johnston Ridge Observatory

[sgyoung]

Man, that looks like a fun hike. I love MSH. Any sense of elevation gain over those 18 miles?

Cool bird and wild flower pictures too.

Thanks for posting.

[mrblisterdundee]

Man, that looks like a fun hike. I love MSH. Any sense of elevation gain over those 18 miles?

Cool bird and wild flower pictures too.

Thanks for posting.

Not very much elevation gain — maybe 1,000 feet overall.