Getting There
It's 28 miles from Woodland to the Cougar. There are a couple of gas stations here. Continue east on SR-503 which becomes Rd 90 for 9.5 miles to Ape Cave. Looks for the sign to Ape Caves, June Lake, Climber's Bivouac, Ape Canyon & Lava Canyon which is Rd 83. It's 0.3 miles to Trail of Two Forests and 0.7 miles to Ape Cave.
I had to drive through Chelatchie to pick up my radio for the next two days. I prefer to take NE Cedar Creek Road from Woodland, instead of going through Battle Ground & Amboy. However, I avoid Woodland for the return trip since the ongoing freeway work is causing 30-45 min delays.
The road washout between Marble Mountain Sno-Park and June Lake is proving to be less of a hindrance to most vehicles the longer it's like it is. It doesn't seem worse (or better) since I first drove through it at the beginning of summer.
The Hike
Elev. gain: 853 ft
Moving time: 1:58:52
Avg pace: 36:22
Calories: 1,203
Total time: 2:27:51
On my way up to the trailhead, I wanted to grab a snapshot of mountain in all her glory and note the lack of snow coverage at this time in the late summer.
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| Mount St Helens (Lawetlat'la) from Cougar Sno-Park |
MSHI trail crews, under leadership of Gail and Tom, were busy this summer maintaining the trails in the monument, including the Lava Canyon Trail below the suspension bridge. I'd only ever ventured a few feet past the bridge. I knew the trail dropped elevation quickly down to Smith Creek, fine if you were doing the loop but some good elevation gain on the way back up.
I knew it was hot and smoky but it didn't seem that bad. I'd hiked Ape Canyon a month or so earlier under similar conditions. The AQI was over 100 but I was determined to at least venture down to the "bottom" where the crews had completed their work.
Almost immediately, I got the heebie-jeebies with the narrow trail, loose rock under-foot, and nearly vertical drop 75-100+ feet. The cliffs in Eagle Creek are higher but the safety cable is very reassuring. There is no such luxury here. I treaded very cautiously, even on the wider spots that didn't have the immediate drop.
I was staring to get second thoughts but wanted to be brave. I was wearing the uniform of an experienced volunteer with the Mt St Helens Institute. In the shade it was alright but exposed the sun, I really started to feel tired and parched.... and I was going downhill. It must have been the combination of heat and wildfire smoke because my heart rate kept spiking with moderate effort.
I got the part of the trail where it's completely eroded away. I didn't dare jump because the stakes were very high. I sat down and shimmied my way forward until I could put my toes on the part of the trail where I could step down.
Whew! I made it! But, in the back of mind, I was thinking "crap, I'm going to have to get over this on the way back." I kept descending, with some reservations.
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| Lower Lava Canyon |
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| Lower Lava Canyon - unnamed waterfall |
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| Lower Lava Canyon |
When I reached the 30 foot ladder, I decided that was it. No more. If I'd been with a hiking partner or other volunteer, I would have climbed down in a second. I had a brief vision of slipping and being found at the bottom. Yikes!
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| No thanks - looks perfectly stable but nope |
I started back to the paved part of the trail. I had such difficulty. It felt like I had 10# weights on my ankles, and my heart was pounding so hard, I felt the need to stop for a rest to let it slow back. I had to repeat this process several times. I also drank a ton of water. for a 1.5 mile hike with about 900 ft of elevation gain, I drank the same amount of water I might have on a 10 mile hike with 2500 feet of EG.
I wondered then and now if the smoky, poor-quality air was the sole reason. I think I'm in reasonable shape but this made me feel like I'm vastly under-prepared for the outdoors. I kind of hope it was and that the air is breathable when I make my 4th summit attempt of MSH next week.
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| Lower Lava Canyon |
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| Lower Lava Canyon |
I was so relieved to finally round the corner and see the suspension bridge. I still had a little ways to climb on the trail but no more drop offs! I finally reached the paved section and sought shade on the metal bridge at the top of the first waterfall.
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| Lava carved by water for 2500 years |
I rested for awhile and drank some water. I finally felt recovered and partially rejuvenated. I took a spin down the dead-end side of the bridge loop. I did hike a bit "offtrail" on top of the rocks where we would discourage visitors from going. "Do as I say, not as I do." I thought of a response if I'd seen a visitor. "I'm looking for trash and graffiti".
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| CLOSED! Lava Canyon Suspension Bridge |
I finally called it a day after spending some time at the Lahar Viewpoint and ToTF. I wanted to snap of photo of Mitchell Peak for my roving report. The sky is blue, but not for the right reason.
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| Cough! Mitchell Peak+ |
Since the water has been shutoff again at Pine Creek, I found campsite at Swift Camp. In fact, the place was virtually empty. It gave me an excuse to try out my new tent.
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| My new 3-person tent from Next Adventure! |
