Climbing Coldwater Peak-Mount St. Helens

After almost 30 months living in Seattle, I finally made a trip to Gifford Pinchot National Forest, home to Mount St. Helens. Most everyone knows that Mount St. Helens is no ordinary mountain, but rather an active volcano. It had a destructive eruption in 1980 that was more than news-worthy, but few know that in 2004 it was once again active causing lava eruptions and small earthquakes. During the 2004-2008 eruption, the lava erupted added about 7% of the volume lost in the 1980 eruption.

This summer I have made two separate hiking trips to Mount St. Helens, one day-trip and the other a three-day weekend. The first trip (only a daytrip) was mid-August and we hiked part of the Boundary Trail from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. We hiked the Boundary Trail around Devil’s Elbow to the first overlook of Spirit Lake and then turned back. Also this trip we hiked the family-friendly Hummocks Trail. This day of hiking consisted of a complete overcast. It was so cloudy that we could only see the base of Mount St. Helens and not even a glimpse of the oh-so-famous crater.

This picture is taken from the same spot: showing how cloudy it was during my first visit compared to the clear skies on the second visit.

The second trip this summer was the weekend after Labor Day (three weeks after my first visit); we did a three-day weekend consisting of 35 miles of trails. We hiked Ape Cave, Lava Canyon, Windy Ridge, Coldwater Peak, Harry’s Ridge, and Coldwater Lake. Each trail provided a unique view of Mount St. Helens and it’s surrounding peaks and landscape. During this entire weekend it was nothing but clear skies, so I finally got to witness the crater.

My favorite trail was Coldwater Peak, and that is the one I will showcase in this blog post.

The trailhead begins at Johnson Ridge Observatory, which means I was repeating about 3 miles of the trail that I attempted in mid-August. However, since it was so sunny, it was like I was hiking a completely different trail. It became very clear to me how much the clouds covered up on my first visit when we got to the first overlook of Spirit Lake. Nestled between mountain peaks in the distance was Mount Adams. As we continued on the trail we encountered terrain that was only white ash, which has a very interesting consistency when hiking on it. We passed Harry’s Ridge side trail on our way to Coldwater Peak (we discussed hiking it if we still had the energy and stamina on the returned trip from hiking Coldwater Peak). Just around the corner from Harry’s Ridge was an expansive view of Spirit Lake and Mount Adams. As we stood at this overlook, Coldwater Peak stood behind us.

We began climbing Coldwater Peak, which had gradual switchbacks that allowed alternating views of Spirit Lake/Mount Adams/Silver Star Mountain and Mount St. Helens.  The trail up the mountain consisted of wildflowers, blown down trees (stumps only remaining) and very short trees. Once we got to the top, we were rewarded with an outstanding panoramic view of everything. Since it was an absolutely cloudless day, we could see everything from miles. Two things you cannot see until the summit of Coldwater Peak is Mount Rainier (the tip of the mountain) and the deep blue St. Helens Lake. The sweeping view from the mountain really allowed one to see the devastation of the eruption path caused by the volcano in 1980, and how the area is slowly recovering.

This is at the top of Coldwater Peak: Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake in the background. The ridge in the middle of the picture is Harry Ridge, which we also hiked that day.

At the top of Coldwater Peak: Mount Adams and Spirit Lake in the background.

Panoramic at the top of Coldwater Peak: Views of Mount Adams, Spirit Lake, Harry's Ridge, and Mount St. Helens.

Panoramic at the top of Coldwater Peak: Views of Mount St. Helens Lake, Mount Adams, Spirit Lake, Harry's Ridge,  and Mount St. Helens.

Mount St. Helens Lake at the top of Coldwater Peak. You can see just the white snow-capped peak of Mount Rainier in the background.

Along the Coldwater Peak trail: blown down tree from the eruption of 1980 and Mount St. Helens.

Bridge along the trail to Coldwater Peak (in the background), you pass it along the way to Harry's Ridge too.

As soon as you pass Devil's Elbow on the Boundary Trail, this is the first overlook of Spirit Lake. That is Mount Adams in the background.

View of Coldwater Peak from the Boundary Trail.

Once we finished our lunch, we hiked down the mountain and decided we were committed to climbing Harry’s Ridge while we were in the area. From the viewpoint of Harry’s Ridge we were able to see the parking lot of Windy Ridge. The day before, we had drove over to Windy Ridge and climbed the staircase trail to the top. If you find yourself on the Boundary Trail, I would recommend making the side hiking trip over Harry’s Ridge because it does provide a different perspective and viewpoint.

Hiking Harry's Ridge trail with Mount St. Helens in the background.

View of Mount St. Helens from the top of Harry's Ridge.

Panoramic view from Harry's Ridge: Mount Adams, Spirit Lake, and Mount St. Helens.

Hiking back to Johnson Ridge Observatory, I couldn’t help but reflect on where I was standing, what I accomplished that day, and what I got to see. Weather is so variant in the Pacific Northwest, and this day was truly a rare occasion and I realized not only how lucky I was to see everything, but was reminded that I live in such an amazing place. People travel from all over the country (and other countries) to come to a place that I call home. I know this isn't the end of the story of my time spent at Mount St. Helens. This trip provided so many memories and continued my love affair with the Evergreen State.

You may not have a volcano in your backyard, but lace up your shoes and get outdoors and explore something, anything!