At the base of Mt. St. Helens is a little, 2.5 mile loop that rewards you with wonderful views of the mountain, the Toutle River and some beaver ponds, dams and a lodge, the likes of which you may never again witness in your life.

High Bridge Viewpoint

On a trip down to see some family I decided to take a couple of the kids out on this jaunt to stretch our legs and get off the road a bit. My mom, Ethan and Neveah joined me for this one; the others were at their other grammas house at the moment.

To get to the trail head, from I-5, take exit 49 to Castle Rock and then follow highway 504 from Castle Rock about 42 miles to the junction to Coldwater Lake and the Johnston Ridge Lookout. About 2 miles after the junction, a large sign points you right at the Hummocks Trail parking lot. It’s really pretty simple, but here are some Google Maps Directions.

The drive up there is not without its’ own perks. There’s a high bridge viewpoint overlooking the tallest bridge in the area; quite impressive. There are several visitors attractions, helicopter tours, an A-frame house partially buried by ash from the eruption 30 years ago and increasingly spectacular views of Mt. St. Helens the closer you get.

Hummocks Trailhead

There are two exits to the trail from the parking lot. Since I had never been there before we set out on the route that started closest to where we parked. I saw no discernible advantage going either way; the hills were about the same and the sights were spaced evenly enough that no mater which way you go, there’s always something to see or do.

The trail was sandy and dry and quite hot that day. I slathered the kids with sunblock, loaded up about 3/4 gallon of water and some snacks. When hiking with small children, the most important thing to keep in mind is keeping them comfortable. That means lots of water, snacks and rest stops. Don’t push them. They’ll have a negative experience and be tainted against hiking for quite some time.

Mt St Helens from the trail

The “Hummocks” are large mounds of ash and rock left over from the eruption of the mountain in 1980. Some of them are quite large. Others are quite small, but they are all interesting and offer lots of different photo opportunities.  Once we got out of the open and into some trees the kids got really interested. The views of the mountain we have been having are spectacular, but they quickly lost interest and the sun was draining their energy pretty quickly. I pair of chipmunks playing near the base of a multi-trunked alder tree piqued Ethan’s interest and he forgot all about being tired. I’ve never seen a kids get so excited about a chipmunk, it was really fun. Additionally, the Lupine and Indian Paintbrush was blooming prolifically, which was really nice.  As dry as it was there, the plant life made it quite bearable.

On a side note: Notice the sandals I’m wearing in the picture below. I went from Saturday night after work until Friday afternoon before going back to work, without wearing socks at all. It was a really nice change to let my feet breath and get free from the smothering work boots I have to wear.

Bridge Critters

Shortly after that we came across a small bridge crossing a stagnant little pond. It’s amazing watching a child become enraptured by the little things in nature. There were water skippers on the ponds surface and an occasional tadpole jigging by. They could have sat and watched the critters all day… but we had to keep going.

Mating Damselflies

Dragonflies (damselflies, actually) were abundant. There were so many blue damselflies flying around that it was tough to decide which one’s to take pictures of. Then I noticed a pair just off the trail, getting to know each other. They stayed still long enough to get a couple shots, then flew off into the brush by the pond.

A little ways past the tadpole ponds and damselfly sanctuary we came across the most impressive network of beaver ponds we have ever seen. We first noticed it from afar as a whole stand of dead, bare alder trees. My mom made a comment remarking that “That looks like beavers flooded that area, killing those trees.” and sure enough, we rounded the bend and saw a nice sized dam with quite a pond behind it.  What really struck my attention, though, was right up from the first dam was another, about 4 feet higher than the first, giving the whole place a terraced look. As we were walking by we noticed, about 20 feet off the trail, just inside the pond was a mound of sticks: Their lodge. Ethan and Neveah loved it. We told them that the beavers lived in there and they have a tunnel that goes under the water to keep other critters out and to hide themselves as they come and go.

Break Time

After the beaver ponds it was time for a snack/recharge break. The kids sat on one of the benches that the park service so thoughtfully installed throughout the trail. A tent caterpillar fell from the alder above onto Neveah. She loved it.

After the first half of the hike out in the open sun, the last half or so was under the alder canopy and kept us plenty cool. There was a couple nice viewpoints overlooking the Toutle River that we capitalized on and got some pictures.  The remainder of the trip was fairly uneventful. There was about a half mile push uphill to end it and Ethan was really starting to get tired. He wanted to stop. I had to keep reminding him that we’ll never get there if we quit now, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and before you know it, we’ll be there. He reluctantly took my advice and once we rounded that last bent and saw the parking lot, he forgot all bout his hurting feet and ran the rest of the way to the truck.

Picasa Album of the Trip

I’ve been looking over my maps lately, trying to find any trails I haven’t yet explored. I know there are a lot of them, and a multitude of options really makes it difficult to decide on any one in particular. However, after much pondering and poring over my maps I decided on a 17 mile loop starting near the Olympic Hot Springs up to Boulder Lake, up the Happy Lake Ridge and back down. I’ve done more than that in a day and figured it would be a piece of cake.

Appleton Pass Trailhead

To get there, follow the signs to the Olympic Hot Springs. Take the Elwha River Road past Lake Mills and the dam up another 5 miles of narrow winding, rough road to the Appleton Pass trailhead.

The first 2.2 miles or so, to the hot springs,  is nearly all paved. It makes for easy walking and this area is extremely popular. When I got there at 7:30 in the morning, the parking lot was packed. I’m typically a solitary kind of guy, so seeing all the cars just made me nervous that I was going to be hiking with crowds of people all around me. Luckily that wasn’t quite the case.

I set off at 8:00 sharp and by 8:45 was at the hot springs. It’s kind of cool down there. The ground is bright green from the algae thriving in the sulphur rich water and if you like the smell of rotten eggs, you’ll be right at home here. The pools aren’t that spectacular, about the size of a large hot tub, but they are quite popular none-the-less.

Making my way past the springs, I saw where most of the occupants of the many vehicles at the trail head were; the campgrounds above the springs. There are quite a few great little tent sites. Flat grassy meadows are all around and there are several “bear wires” set up to keep food out of reach of scavengers.

Through the campground is where the trail really begins. Pavement ends and the narrower dirt path that I know and love starts. Shortly, I came to the Appleton Pass / Boulder Lake junction. The sign there said I had 2.8 miles to go before reaching the lake. I had studied the topo map before heading out and it didn’t appear to be that bad of a climb. It wasn’t too bad, but it was steeper than I imagined. The one good thing about it, though, is that it was nearly 100% smooth dirt trail. very rarely was there any root wads or rocky shelfs to step over.

Red Spotted Garter Snake

By now the sun was rising higher and I was enjoying the walk immensely. I was encouraged by the amount of wildlife that I was spooking off the trail. I figured I was the first to come through here in a little while. A good sized red-spotted garter snake shot off to the side of the trail and under a rock. He was gone before I could get my camera out. Then, about 20 feet up the trail, another, much smaller one moved out of my way. I was able to quickly snap a shot before he disappeared.

Shortly after this is when I met the first group of hikers coming down from the lake. I stepped aside to let them pass, as they were quite loaded down with gear… It looked like they all had enough gear to last a week, but they were just up there for the night they said.

Appleton Pass area

Up up up the trail climbed. I started catching glimpses through the trees of snow peaked Appleton Pass, and wished that I could play in the snow on my birthday. After traversing a couple downed trees along the way I met with another couple people. They, too, were loaded to the hilt. One guy had his hatchet strapped to his belt, and packs stuffed with what appeared to be 45 or 50 pounds of gear.  They too, were just up for the weekend.

It was amazing to see peoples varying styles. I remember growing up, my parents would take us out for a week at a time and we were quite comfortable the whole time, (as far as food and shelter, etc goes) with just 30-40 pound packs, and here are whole groups of people killing themselves with massive loads for an over-nighter.

At 10:45 I made it to the lake. About 1/8 mile before the lake snow patches covered the ground along the trail. I love it. The lake is nice sized, fed from the snow above and subsequently ice cold. Oh how good it felt. There’s a little peninsula jutting out into the water where I sat down and enjoyed the sun for a while. There were about 5 groups of people taking down tents and campsites scattered about.

Boulder Lake

There was a foot path leading to the back side of the lake where the stream comes down from Boulder Peak and feeds the lake. It was some of the coldest, freshest water I have ever dunked my head into.

Now, you know how parents use the bogey man to scare their kids into behaving? Well, growing up my bogey man was Giardia, or ‘Beaver Fever’. I NEVER drink wild water. I will pack a gallon of water on my back rather than risk getting sick out there. Well, today I broke that rule. I could pretty much see the water source, couldn’t see any sign of marmots or other wildlife in the area and figured “Why the hell not?” Oh man how good it tasted. By this time my Camelbak was warming up and just lacked that crisp refreshment. This snow creek was awesome.

Red Mountain Heather

Surrounding the lake were many types of flowers. Avalanche Lilies dominated though. Growing in the rocks around the lake were those pink evergreen Red Mountain Heather you see to the right here. If I’m wrong about the identification, please let me know, that was the closest I could come up with.

I brought my fishing pole with me. I bring it everywhere, you never know when it will come in handy. I hooked it together, tied on one of my favorit spinners and tried my luck at the mouth of the snow stream. After 15 minutes of casting with no luck, I called it quits. I didn’t really expect to get much if anything. I didn’t see any sign of fish, and it was high noon, just about the worst time to go fishing anywhere. I re-packed the fishing pole and set off back down the trail.

Avalanche Lilies

I said earlier that the plan was to do the loop up over Happy Lake Ridge. Well, I liked it at the lake so much, I had spent an hour and a half here, didn’t feel like heading up the mountain any more and I was kind of anxious to get home; the wife had promised to take me out tonight. Additionally, my back was acting up and starting to tell me that it wasn’t too happy with the days events. I really wish that my back would stop dictating the conditions of my activity. It’s starting to piss me off.

At 12:15 I was back on the trail. I met up with a guy heading out as well. We got to talking and discovered that we are in the (sort of) same line of work. He deals with psychiatric patients, many of whom do not wish to be where they are. We got to talking about working with crazy people, and the inmates too. It helped the time pass. After about a half hour he left me to my own. He had to take a break as he was packing quite a load and I only about 15 pounds or so. We parted ways and I was off again in solitude.

Descending a steep trail has disadvantages of its’ own. It’s not difficult like ascending is, but the dynamics are different on your body. Without good shoes and foot care, your toenails can start getting hurt. My nephew, once, actually lost his big toe-nails after a particularly brutal slog.  Gravity pulls you and without proper form, the jarring can really do a number on your back and hips. Keeping your knees bent to absorb the shock eventually your thighs begin to feel it. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but once you get back to the car, oh how you feel it. It’s a good kind of hurt, I think. A satisfying soreness that lets you know you did something good.

Well, I reached the bottom of the hill without incident. It took 30 minutes less to get down than up, imagine that. Back through the hot springs campground, most of the campers had pulled up stakes and left. Then back onto the pavement. For some reason, by this time my back was screaming at me. I had never hurt this much after a hike, in fact, normally I feel better after a hike. Not today. The last 2 miles was a pain. I kept going though. One foot in front of the other, and at 2:20 in the afternoon, I was back at my car.

When I’m out on the trail, I like to post Twitter and Facebook updates along the way. I like to let people know what I’m doing and show off this wonderful area in which I live. That was impossible today. From the trail head on, I had zero signal. I still took pictures with my phone and drafted updates to be sent once I could, and about a mile down the road, as I rounded a corner, poof, full service. I parked and uploaded all that I had. If this is something that you would be interested in, be sure to check out my Twitter and Facebook pages.

View the full photo gallery here

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Last August I was quite  fortunate to be able to team up with a few friends from work and do the Obstruction Point trail. This is a great trail that starts right above the treeline and follows a ridge for a couple miles, then drops down into a valley containing some wonderful lakes and several forks leading to other parts of the park and several choices for your return trip.

To get to the trailhead from Port Angeles follow the signs to Hurricane Ridge.  The National Park charges an entry fee per vehicle: $15 daily or $30 yearly.  The yearly pass is well worth it for what you can access with it. The entry station is located about 5 miles from Port Angeles up the Hurricane Ridge Parkway, and from there it’s another 12 or so miles to the Hurricane Ridge Park. We’re not going there though. Right before the main park, (you can see the visitors center), theres a little, treacherous looking dirt road that takes off to the south of the main road. Follow this road several miles until you reach the trail-head. Drive carefully; the road is narrow and negotiating with oncoming traffic can be exciting at times.

There’s no water that I can remember at the trail-head, so be sure to come prepared. There are two apparent routes from the parking lot, but the north trail splits into two more just out of view of the parking lot; one dropping into Badger Valley and the other makes its’ way to Deer Park. We set off on the south trail and the sun was already beaming.  It was perfect.

Once we worked our way over  the first rise, we saw a grouse just off the trail watching us. Grouse are funny birds in that they will let you get incredibly close to them before they realize “Oh crap, I better get outta here”, and even then, they may only fly 50 feet away and watch you some more. They can be incredibly easy to hunt because of this. Driving down the old logging roads where I grew up, most grouse I saw would see you coming and if they didn’t play ostrich and sit there, hoping you wouldn’t see them, they would fly to the nearest tree beside the road, just waiting to become dinner.

This grouse wasn’t much different. He may be accustomed to humans passing by, but for whatever reason, he let us get to within 10 feet of him before skittering away.

The first couple miles of this trail are quite mild and scenic. Occasionally, off to the south, across the Lillian Valley you can see Lillian Lake. Lillian Lake is a perfect little silver dollar shaped, crystal blue lake nestled into a bowl at the top of a mountain ridge. I decided then and there that one day I will make it up to that lake, and upon further research, I discovered that I can. And will. This summer, I’m taking a couple days and going to get there no matter what.

About 2 miles from the parking lot, we split from the “tourist” route and crossed the forbidden “Do Not Cross” sign to trek on the old, mostly forgotten trail. The “proper” trail continues on and then drops steeply into the Grand Valley and the lakes held within. The spur that we took picks its’ way up over a rugged outcropping of rocks, across a rock field and then you have to pick your way over a jagged ridge with a dizzying drop to either side of you. I make i sound worse than it was, but only to make it sink in that this is no place for the kids. One mis-step could really ruin your day. I took a video of us having some fun on the ridge: Rock & Roll (39Mb).

After picking your way over about half the ridge, it becomes impassable and you must drop down onto the hillside. A trekking pole is strongly recommended for this hike. The rocks are very loose and the ground is extremely steep and uneven. When you do have decent footing, the rocks are quite jagged and really do a number on your boots.

The descent onto the hillside is interesting to say the least:

Once back on the trail below that ridge, you must grind your way back up to the peak of Moose Mt. Between the loose rock and insane grade, you wonder how on earth you can manage. You can: Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Here’s where staying well hydrated and fed pays off. Nothing makes you more miserable and shaky-legged than being hungry. Also, I’ve found that bringing along a bag of hard candy to suck on, such as Werthers or LifeSavers, does wonders at keeping your mouth wet and your energy level high enough to make it through the next push, wherever that may be.

Moose Mt. is a knob in the middle of this area, upon which you can see where you’ve been, where you’re going and where you wish you could go. Another feature off Moose Mt. is its’ nondescript little glacier. Nothing special, but even in the hottest part of summer it never totally disappears. It’s a steep little scramble to get to it, but it’s rewarding none-the-less.

After a quick break on the mountain, make your way down the north slope onto low pass. In the loose shale, there isn’t much of a trail, but you can tell where you are supposed to go: Downhill. Now you can look down into the valley on your left and see Moose Lake and the smaller Gladys Lake, and before you know it, you are standing on the ridge overlooking the “proper” trail once again. The switchbacks leading to the valley wind through a massive network of marmot dens. You are pretty much guaranteed to see more than one of those massive rodents on your way down.

The cool valley, beside Gladys lake is a nice spot for lunch. Now, from here you have a couple choices. Turn north towards Moose and Grand Lakes or south up a 2 mile network of switchbacks to Grand Pass. The views from Grand pass are spectacular, and we were feeling pretty fresh yet, despite the roller coaster ride we’ve just been on to get to where we were, so we opted to check that out. The ascent was fairly unremarkable, but the reward was worth it. It was here we decided to take our group picture:

Once back down in the valley, Craig and I started pulling away from the rest of the group. Not because they were getting tired or anything, they were just enjoying the scenery. We were trying to get to the fishing. Moose lake looked promising, but we knew Grand lake was twice as big and for sure had better fish.  However, between Moose and Grand Lake lies a junction in the trail: Back up the hill to where we left the trail earlier, or north to Badger Valley and eventually the parking lot. Unfortunately, no one had ever taken the Badger Valley route before and didn’t know what the trail was like. We knew what the trail was like the other way: Switchbacks straight up the hill. We opted for Badger Valley and stopped at Grand lake for some R&R. There was a beautiful deep pool right off the trail with tons of trout just waiting to be caught.

Grand Lake

After our little respite at the lake we set off again. By now we were well below the treeline and still descending. I was getting uneasy at this and Craig also made a comment: “We sure are dropping a lot here… We’re going to have to make this up later.” By this time we were getting pretty tired from the days adventures, and by the time we reached the bottom and started back up again, we were well into the trees and I wasn’t looking forward at all to climbing back out of them. Oh well, we were committed.

The remaining few miles were a lot slower going than before, when were fresh. I kept looking up ahead, trying to discern any familiar landmark from the parking lot area. I swore we would never get there.  By this time, the sun had fallen behind the peaks and some low clouds came in, dropping the temperature considerably; It was welcome, but due to my fatigue, I could keep moving quickly enough to stay warm and loose.  Coming to another shale, switchbacked hill, I was beat. I saw nothing that led me to believe that we were nearing the end. I’d make my way up to one end of a switchback, rest. Up the the next corner. Rest.  Finally coming over the last rise, onto the trail above, I realized that this was the other fork, just out of view of the parking lot. Needless to say, my spirits rose and I strode around the corner to salvation.

We left a note on the other vehicle that we were headed home to fire up the grill and pop the tops off some beers. The rest of the group made it to the house about 45 minutes after we got there, and soon we were chowing down on great grub with our families in the back yard. It was wonderful.

Now, I’m not the fittest of people, but I keep trucking. What I tell the kids is this: “You don’t have to move fast. You just have to keep moving.” Many of the hikes I go on are ass kickers, and when I get home I crash. But I will never stop moving forward. This hike here is one of those. I’m sure if we hadn’t gone up to Grand Pass, the climb out of Badger Valley would have been much more tolerable, but if I had to do it again, I’d do it the same way. Never take the easy way out.

Here’s a gallery of the entire trail: http://olympicwanderer.com/Obstruction%20Point/ Enjoy.

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