August 24, 2013 - Mt. Saint Helens - Hummocks Trail - Elevation 2500 feet

Today we visited Mt. Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument and hiked the Hummocks Trail located about 8 miles before the Coldwater Visitors center. After a picnic lunch at the Coldwater Lake area, we started out on our hike. Right away, we noticed this trail was very different from all of the other Western Washington trails we have hiked so far. The trail surface the entire way was a very fine, dark grey powder that is made up of dirt and ash from the 1980 eruption. Also, this was a very young forest, everything that has grown here is less than 32 years old. This was a starling change from the 500+ year old Douglas Firs and Cedars we are accustomed to seeing on the trails. This trail was full of wildlife, we saw 2 different types of snakes, 2 different frogs, many different color dragonflies, even a duck. There were also many more insects than we are used to seeing, and a few very large ant hills with trails of ants by the thousands. Claire did great on the 2.5 mile hike except for the sharp rocks that stuck out of the trail surface, they were the same color as the dirt, and that made it hard for her to see them, causing her to trip more than usual.

The Hummocks trail is named after the giant Hummocks that are seen along the trail. Hummocks are huge mounds of rock, ash and mud that were formed in the days after the eruption. This trail runs along the North Fork Toutle River, which was a huge path of lava flow during the eruption.

As for the peak of St. Helens, there was substantial cloud cover today, so we were unable to see the top part of the mountain. There were moments throughout the day when the cloud cover was so low it felt like we were going to bump our heads on the "ceiling". Overall, this was a great hike, and is a great way to get away from the "visitor center" crowds are really experience the nature of St. Helens.

 Following our hike on the mountain, we stopped at a fantastic roadside restaurant in a beautiful old house called Patty's Place, the dinner food was great and the Strawberry/Rhubarb and Northwest Berry Cobbler was excellent. It was a great dinner and a fun place to eat.

August 10, 2013 - Mt. Rainier and Grove of the Patriarchs Hike

Following our Silver Falls Trail hike, we drove up to the Paradise Visitors Center on Mount Rainier. This part of the park was very busy, so we stopped at a picnic area just Southeast of Paradise and ate a snack, took these pictures, and then headed back down the mountain towards the Stevens Canyon park entrance and the Grove of the Patriarchs for our second hike of the day.

 

The Grove of the Patriarchs hike was a 1.2 mile round trip hike to a special grove of ancient trees near the Stevens Canyon Entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. The trail head has a good size parking lot with a bathroom. It was showing signs of rain at the start of our hike, but never really did rain. At about 0.5 miles into the hike, you have to cross a "shake shake" bridge, something both kids enjoyed. Once we got to the special grove, there was a loop boardwalk that went through the forest to all of the massive trees. These trees were truly amazing, including 2 firs that are over 1000 years old. As you can see from the pictures below, this is a special part of the forest, and is worth the walk to visit these giants.

 

   

Luke and Levi, in front of an uprooted giant.

Ancient Cedar and Douglas Fir.

That is a big hug.

Ancient giant.

Claire in front of the twin, 1000+ year old Douglas Firs. 

This big!

Trees growing on the top of a fallen tree!

Claire and Jessica marvel at the giants.

Claire and Jessica on the boardwalk trail through the Ancient Grove.

Platform to look into the fallen giant.

Claire and Jessica carefully navigate the "shake shake" bridge. Levi and I ran across!

August 10, 2013 - Mount Rainier, Silver Falls Trail, Ohanapecosh River

Today we headed out for a low elevation hike in the Mount Rainier National Park, along the Ohanapecosh River. We parked at the Ohanapecosh Campground which also has a day use picnic area and is the site of the trail head. After a brief picnic lunch we saddled up and headed out on the trail. The weather was cool but sunny, and it had rained and thunder stormed the night before. The first stop along the trail was only about 0.1 mile down, and was a hot spring. The water level in the hot spring was pretty low, probably due to the time of the season, so it was mostly mud. Our trek continued through dense woods along the Ohanapecosh River, with very good size up and down elevation gains. This was certainly an athletic hike. We came upon a bridge that crossed the Laughingwater Creek. This was a good resting point and the creek was a beautiful sight. We carried on and made it to the Silver Falls. Wow, what a beautiful waterfall, tucked away deep in the woods. It was a 1.2 mile hike to the falls, but well worth it. When Claire got to the falls, she literally just sat down in the dirt and just stared at the falls, and did not want to be interrupted, a very zen moment for us all. This trail is a loop trail, so we were able to march on past the falls, through the forest and circle around for a total hike of about 2.5 miles, a great accomplishment for Claire and a fun day for all.


At the start of the Silver Falls Trail.

Ohanapecosh River from the trail.

Claire and Jessica, looking fabulous on the trail.

Levi and Luke on the trail.

On the bridge across Laughingwater Creek.

Bridge across Laughingwater Creek.

Claire in front of a 600+ year old tree section.



Silver Falls.



Silver Falls.

Ohanapecosh River.