Getting There

Since this was the training hike for all guides and volunteers for both the Glacier Overlook Hike (GOH) and Into the Crater Hike (ITCH), we all stayed at Mt. St. Helens Institute, Research Facility about 2.3 miles from the Cascade Peaks Interpretive Center (CLOSED) down NF-2560. It's not open to the general public.

Since NFD-25 is still closed due to last year's landslide near Elk Pass. There's unofficial news that the road is passable and that the gates aren't actually locked. Nevertheless, I had to go the "long" way through Randle.

On the way to the field camp, I stopped at the Miner's Car to snap a photo. I ended up running into another MSHI volunteer who was doing the same thing. We chatted for a bit and I mentioned seeing the car in the mid-1980s when it was just enclosed in a chain-link fence.

As we were walking back to our cars, Stasia from WTA showed up. She was staying at Green River Horse Camp and scouting the trails for the WTA/MSHI Jamboree trail work party the following weekend. We chatted some more, then went our separate ways.

There were some MSHI volunteers at the Cascade Peaks parking lot. The other volunteer and I stopped to chat. I still wasn't exactly sure where we were going. There was a locked gate we had to pass through. Yet another pair of MSHI volunteers that was heading to camp showed up. They opened the gate and we drove through.

I was in the lead and out of the blue, I got extremely dizzy and thought I was going to pass out. Luckily I was only going 2-3 miles per hour on this dirt road. I pulled over a little and tried to regain my composure. I thought I might be dehydrated. I grabbed a small bottle of water from the backseat and downed it. I grabbed some kind of snack and ate that too. I recovered about 90% and the other two cars caught up to where I was stopped. I started moving again as if I'd been waiting for them. I was worried about anyone finding out I was not well. The road was longer than I'd expected but we finally saw the big tents were the kitchen and dining tables were setup. Cars were parked all over this meadow. I found a spot to set up camp and spent some time still recovering physically and emotionally. I was privately freaked out. A bit of routine helped distract me. Setting up the tent, inflating sleeping pad, and unpacking my sleeping bag and pillow.

I put on my sun shirt with the hood to cool off a bit and protect me from the bugs that were flying around.

I joined a group of people that had recently arrived to chat. I pretended everything was fine.

I was expecting another episode but I continued to feel fine(ish).

After awhile, the ITCH guides and volunteers made it back to camp. Some other crew had been getting dinner ready. A little while after they'd returned, the dinner bell was rung.

They had burgers, salad, fruit, cookies.

The sun went down and it started to get dark. We all sat around the propane camp fire and sat in the camp chairs. I had to retrieve my bug net since the flies and mosquitoes were doing their best to be a pain in the arse. I eventually turn in for the night as did many others.

The next morning they had continental breakfast. I kind of wanted coffee but opted for tea. No lew at Windy Ridge.

After the morning refreshments, I packed my tent, etc and got ready. I wasn't the last to leave but I realized I was at the end of a long line of cars passing through the gate. We all parked at Windy Ridge and got out for the intro talk. Then, consolidated into several cars to drive to the trailhead.

The Hike

Distance: 6.77 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,760 feet
Max. Elevation: 5,277 feet

Note: This isn't the actual hike route. We are accessing an area that is off-limits to the general public through special permission from the USFS & the Cowlitz Tribe, I didn't want to make the actual route public. This is just the AllTrails map for Loowit Falls, which IS open to the public.

Additionally, we had access to the trail from the staging site for the Spirit Lake tunnel project road.

This was the first time I'd ventured onto the Pumice Plain on the Loowit. It was great to hike in a big group like this. We heard the talks that clients would get about the geology (from Alan), the 1980 story, the mountain's significance to the Cowlitz tribe.

We were treated to an up-close view of a group of mountain goats. Even though it was mid-July, the adult goats still had part of their winter coats. There was bits of fur stuck to some of the bushes on the Plain. We learned that people from the Cowlitz will collect this fur periodically.

The pictures tell the story. We were staring into this enormous crater. It was awe-inspiring. I felt so fortunate to be able to visit this spot through MSHI and permission from the USFS and Cowlitz Tribe.

The weather wasn't too bad, especially with plenty of water, breaks, hooded sun shirt, and a nice breeze.

We did the "rose & thorns" thing at the end. Virtually everyone only had "roses". Mine were being able to witness such amazing landscape and hike with fellow staff, guides, and volunteers.