Mt. St Helens

So on Sept 3rd I FINALLY made it up Mt. St. Helens. This has been on my to do list since I moved here 6 years ago!! In all fairness it was closed off from 04-06 due to increased activity. They have this crazy permit system that only allows 100 hikers above the 4800ft timberline each day. You have to buy tickets well in advance and weekends are sold out by early summer. So it's a bit of a gamble as far as weather is concerned.

We got a bit lucky. It was overcast on the hike up, so it wasn't too hot, and you couldn't really see the goal/summit, so you just kept walking without knowing how far away it was. It is 10 miles round trip with a 4,500 ft elevation gain!!! The trailhead is at 3,700ft, south rim is at 8,200ft -so you don't have to do math.
I'm sitting on the rim facing the dome. This was by far one of the top 10 coolest things I have done so far in life. It is breathtaking when you get to the top and peer over the rim into the dome. There are steam vents and rock falls to remind you that you are staring into an active volcano.

Quote of the day, "This is so much better than being at work!"

It took us 4 hours to get to the top, the last 1,100ft took almost an hour and half crossing the scree field. Talk about frustration!!! We hung out and had lunch for about an hour. The clouds started to burn off and the view was impressive.

That is looking down into the dome and north to the blast area with Spirit Lake to the far right. The hike down the clouds thinned, it was warm and we had fabulous views of Mt. Adams, Hood, and even Jefferson. Total time to get down, just over 2 hours.