Mt. St. Helens Hike

Mt. St. Helens - Washington State

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Length	Difficulty	Streams	Views	Solitude	Camping
4.0 mls		N/A			N/A
Hiking Time: Elev. Gain: Links:	3.5 hours plus a half hour for lunch 600 ft Washington State Parks

This is just a short hike around the blown down area starting at Johnson Ridge. The devastation is still very apparent with very little vegetation able to make a foothold 23 years after the eruption.

With vistas of the volcano from the collapsed side of the mountain and a view of Spirit Lake this is something you definitely want to see if you are in the area.

This is a very popular tour area as you can imagine. So be prepared for the crowds even on the short trails.

Remember to bring a hat and plenty of water as there obviously isn't any cover and the reflection of the sun off the ash makes for a scorching hike.

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Hiker Reviews For The Mt St Helens Hike (5 Most Recent)

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By: Mr. O-R	Rating:	Date of Hike: Monday, May 06, 2013
Unlike my review March 13, the Rod Hollow creek crossing was no problem. Continue some miles North of the shelter for an incredible stand of red Columbine wildflowers.

By:	Rating:	Date of Hike: Thursday, April 18, 2013
This hike may not have the vistas of many other hikes, but this hike is INCREDIBLE for wildflowers, especially right now in April. There are hundreds of VA Bluebells, Yellow and Blue Violets, Wild Geranium and many others blooming right now. The stream crossings are covered in what I think will be Large Trillium come May/June. One caveat: The Fisher Hill section of the trail has a ton of downed trees and the trail can be faint and hard to follow, but keeping an eye on my GPS and looking for the blazes helped, but I was bushwhacking a lot. It was wet and rainy, but totally worth the hike!

By: Mr. O-R	Rating:	Date of Hike: Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Heading North from Ashby Gap on the AT, found the Rod Hollow creek (just before shelter) uncrossable. Did not try Fishers Hill loop crossing.

By: MWG	Rating:	Date of Hike: Saturday, June 16, 2012
A nice hike. Not too hard but as others have said, nothing to look at. We spooked a few deer, and the bugs were a little annoying. If you like a decently forested hike, this is right up your alley. The parking lot was near full when we arrived but we never saw anyone else on the trail. A big thanks to the hiking group (2 vans full) that backed their vans right into the trail head, obscuring it and making it difficult to get back out. Overall the terrain was mostly solid earth, not a lot of rocks to stumble on.

By:	Rating:	Date of Hike: Sunday, February 26, 2012
http://www.meetup.com/hiking-162/events/52379362/ 19 of us started at Ashby Gap and headed north for a couple hours. Some checked out PATCs cabin and surprised its weekend visitors. Others tried out the Fisher Gap Loup. It was enjoyable checking out this portion of the Appalachian Trail's Roller Coaster. Be advised the trailhead is easy to miss. Once you leave US-50 taking a slight right onto VA-601 follow it to the right then keep a sharp eye out for trail post on your left where you will take a left down to parking. If you pass it & turn around it is much harder to take that right down into the trailhead. We know, we did.

View all 13 reviews for the Mt St Helens hike

May, 2003