Reaching Volcanic Heights: Mt St Helens P4

While I have absolutely ZERO regrets about this adventure, the only reason we climbed Mt. St. Helens is because Snesha wanted to use it as a training hike. Yeah. This was a training hike for her!

The part that absolutely slays me is that she’s afraid of heights and barely admired the view from the top. She beat us to the top, admired the view for maybe 30 seconds, then turned around to face the way she came. We hung out at the top for about an hour and I’m not sure she peeked into the caldera again until it was time to leave 😂 but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Peak

We got to the top only to find out it wasn’t really the top. How rude! Immediately off to the right was one mini-summit and then to the left, there were another two that were visible complete with people on the furthest one. I soon found out that the TRUE summit was that further away one.

I immediately climbed up to the right to snap a few more pictures while Chris joined Snesha watching the newcomers struggle up the vertical beach. I soon joined them both though because I was ravenous. Many snacks were consumed and then I was up and exploring again.

I climbed the left mini-summit next which had INCREDIBLE views. It was just high enough that you could see all the mountains. From where Chris and Snesha were sitting that mini summit to the right blocked out Mt. Adams. I hollered down to them they were missing out but they didn’t care. Snacks and rest were far more important. I mean. They aren’t wrong per se but I figured we could snack on the way down and rest later but whatever.

Once I learned that the TRUE summit was off to our left, I headed off to claim bragging rights. Lovely views were had but I quickly found out the trail descended quite a bit before going up even further. I was finally smart about evaluating my situation and decided I needed to maintain my stamina for the trek back. Yep. You read that right. I turned around and went back to the team instead of claiming bragging rights. Not a one of us reached the true summit of Mt. St. Helens.

Chris here: On the summit I turned to Devin and let her know that our training had paid off and it worked since we reached the top. I was not surprised when the reply to my statement was that it took us too long and we didn't actually make it to the true summit. Not surprised at all. Unbeknownst to Lucy, I had already kicked the ball.

Fact-Checking the Stories

While exploring the left mini-summit I ran into a trail volunteer and asked her about her work. It primarily involves keeping people company, answering questions, and helping encourage them up or down the mountain. Obviously, I asked her about her favorite stories and, as Spirit Lake was easily visible, she told me how Harry Truman loved this area and built a cabin out there by the lake. When everyone else evacuated Mt. St. Helens, Harry stayed behind in the cabin he loved so dearly and perished in the eruption.

Now I can’t recall if she used a middle initial or not when referring to Harry Truman nor am I enough of a history buff to know when / where the US President Truman died but I can tell you that for the entirety of the hike back and a fair amount of the drive home (cheers to no cell service), I seriously thought she told me President Truman had died when St. Helens erupted. He didn’t. Harry S. Truman died in a hospital 8 years prior to the eruption.

Harry R. Truman, on the other hand, did perish in the eruption as she stated. [Along with 16 cats. Seriously dude? I get that you make your own decisions in life but they depended on you and you let them down.] He’s apparently quite the celebrity in the area. He has a trail near Spirt Lake named after him, he features in a St. Helens docudrama, and a number of songs have been written about him.

She also told me that the glacier inside the caldera is the only growing glacier in the world. I don’t know about you, but I’m relatively spun up on climate change and how quickly all the glaciers are melting so I was skeptical that any glaciers are growing at this time. I couldn’t confirm if it’s the fastest or only one growing in the world, but I did find this video that says it is in fact growing and at quite a fast rate too. Turns out that its position shelters it from much of the sun and all of the rocks falling down on it protect the snow from melting.

The Great Descent

We stayed at the caldera rim for about an hour enjoying the views, resting, and encouraging the hikers as they came up the beach but, eventually, it was time to return home. We packed up our things and began the descent.

The vertical beach may have been a pain to ascend but the scree allowed you to slide down. I imagine it’s a bit like skiing but you should fact check this with someone who has descended Mt. St. Helens and gone skiing before. I thought it was a lot of fun although I was rather petrified of my front leg going too far forward and pulling me into the splits straight down the mountain. It didn’t happen. It was just a slip and slide back to the boulder field.

The boulders were my favorite part to ascend, and they were my least favorite part to descend. Going up is so much easier. My bum knee and fear of falling meant this was incredibly slow going plus I ended up on the wrong side of the ravine which caused me to cross the valley on my butt while sliding down the mountain. Do not recommend. Just stick to your side of the ravine and cross back over in the valley below. Hindsight 20/20.

Chris here: The descent was truly the most challenging part. You have to have much more focus going down to make sure you have secure footing and a lot of the time it is a bit of a gamble.

After that, it was back to the ridgeline and the valley. We walked in the valley this time instead of along the ridge. I think we were all tired by this point. Toes started to get stubbed as boots just became too heavy to pick up all the way. This is where the mountain claimed its third and final victim. Twice. One fall right after another.

Finally, exhausted (well, I was I don’t know about the rest of them), we made it back into the trees. The forest was so pretty! It had been dark when we went through it before, so we didn’t see much but now it was a whole new, beautiful world with stunning flowers and trees. I was still exhausted, but my eyes were happy with the scenery and the shade.

At long last (no joke 13 hours!), we made it back to our cars. Snesha and I traded out hiking boots for sandals while Chris went for tennis shoes. We loaded our packs into the car and drove off into the sunset in search of pizza and beer.