After having such a lovely day over at Mt. Rainier we wanted to go on down to Mt. St. Helens. The weather near Rainier was going to be rainy on Saturday and around St. Helens it was going to be less rainy. When we arrived at the visitor's center the top of the mountain was covered in cloud. Nonetheless, we could see the blast zone, and the information in the center was excellent.
We thought about going back to Rainier, but as usual, we decided to keep exploring and went to Ape Cave.
We had headlamps, so we didn't need any of the lanterns. But, how awesome is that poster?
After walking to the end of the cave and back, we went down the road a little ways to another hike. By this point we were almost on the other side of the mountain from the visitors center.
We found another suspension bridge to cross. This one allowed two people to cross at the same time. Andrew walked behind me. This one was really rickety, it bounced and swayed, especially with two people taking steps along it. It was very pretty though.
We kept driving and decided to go up to Windy Point for one last look at the mountain. We took the Truman Trail, because we told ourselves we would be able to see the mountain around the bend. Maybe 4 bends later we finally did see it! It was getting late, past 8pm, but clouds passed over the mountain and we were able to see the bulging lava dome.
It was so worth going up to Windy Point and hiking a few miles down Truman Trail.
The "land" along the lake shore is actually logs! They are all jammed up there from the last eruption. It was incredible to witness these signs of an eruption that took place in the 80s.
On the way down, we saw a fox!
This whirlwind trip to Mt. St. Helens made me fall in love! So much so, that we decided to summit the peak next summer. Sometime next August, I will hike up my first mountain!
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