Camping and Hiking - Mount St. Helens - Memorial Day Weekend

I had a fantastic weekend camping and hiking on the southwest side of Mount St. Helens with my friend David. It was so great to get away for awhile. Campsites have not reopened yet but dispersed camping is allowed in certain areas. David and I have a great time hiking together because well, we both love it! We also both have elderly parents at home so we stay isolated as much as possible. We feel we are safe to hike together because of that. Neither of us want to put our parents at risk. We are living in such crazy times, aren't we? Thank goodness for hiking!

Saturday we went on a couple of small hikes and searched for the Kalama Springs. The Springs were never located but we did find ourselves bushwhacking and balancing on tree logs to stay out of the water! Now that was quite the adventure!

 

2020 Hike 18/52
5.66 miles; 421 Feet of elevation gain


On Sunday we went on a great hike up the Toutle Trail to Butte Camp. The views of the mountain were spectacular - some of the best I have ever seen from a trail! Lots of snow and beautiful sunshine too! Definitely a place to return to in the near future.

 

2020 Hike 19/52
7.35 miles; 1538 feet of elevation gain

Blue Horse Trail and Blue Lake

Today's hike was out near Mount St. Helens. We started on the Blue Horse Trail and headed towards Blue Lake. We took a couple of "detours" (getting off track is all part of the adventure!), stomped through snow, crossed the river four times (two times more than we should have! haha), and eventually had lunch next to the lake. We saw different kinds of fungi, a frog, and luckily a glimpse of Mount St. Helens! Tomorrow - May 18, 2020 - is the 40 year anniversary of the 1980 eruption.

 

2020 Hike 17/52
10.12 miles; 1338 feet of elevation gain