Mt. St. Helens is an Ashhole (8.18-20.10 Hike)

About a month ago, Lindsay, who is trying to get her credentials to be a hiking guide, asked if I wanted to take a hike around Mt. St. Helens. Being a fan of Mt. St. Helens, I said yes without realizing how brutal it was going to be. She had this guide book, which was outdated, last published in 2003, that showed different hikes around the cascades. She was interested in this one because it was an easy one. Which later on we figured out it was one of the “easier ones” in the book. A lot of the hikes were over sixty miles or more, with serious height in elevation. When we got back from the two-day hike, I looked on the internet of the reviews it was given. It was a 7/10 difficulty rating and was for experienced fit hikers. I was like; I survived a forty mile hike without realizing how hard it actually was. Don’t get me wrong, it was difficult and I wanted to die six miles into it but I did it and that is an accomplishment. I would probably never do it again at the spur of the moment. It was a good thing I was in somewhat shape or I wouldn’t have made it all the way around.

I met Lindsay at South Sound Running, where she works. She got off at 7 p.m. and had me bring all of my stuff with me so we could just leave from there. We headed down I-5 and made it to the Woodland exit. We stopped at the Safeway to use the bathroom and to get a few snacks. I found some Orange Capri’s Suns, a rarity at the grocery stores. So with the Capri’s Suns and some Nutria Grain bars, I was set for the evening. We headed towards Cougar, the last town before you get to the National Park. It was getting dark fast. We made it to the June Lake parking lot and set up the tent in the dark while we waited for Shawn, Lindsay’s friend from the Olympia Mountaineers.

We set up the tent, rolled out the sleeping bags, mattress pads and situated ourselves before we each took a turn using the forest as a bathroom. While Lindsay went potty, I brushed my teeth and looked around the parking lot. When she was done, we switched. We got situated in the tent when we heard Shawn drive up. He got out and got his stuff ready and we all fell asleep just before midnight. I was tired so I instantly fell asleep.



We woke up around 6 a.m. because Lindsay didn’t hear her alarm go off and to foggy surroundings and started packing up our stuff and decided what we wanted to leave behind to keep our packs light. I ate a cereal bar before embarking on our 17 miles + journey. I wish we could have seen the landmarks around us that morning but everything was too foggy. We walked the 1.4 miles to June Lake. On the way Lindsay decided to share one of her metal walking poles with me (kind of like ski poles) as we walked. We arrived shortly at the lake and admired how tiny it was. We kinda saw the waterfall but the fog was too much for a decent picture. We decided we would wait until we came back. We walked up to the trail head and off we went on the Loowit Trail. The walk didn’t seem all that bad, we rose in elevation from 3,400 to 4,800 feet and hit a couple of steep parts of the trail; nothing I couldn’t handle. We made it to the Muddy River and decided to fill up our water bottles with the filter.



We packed our stuff up again and headed towards Ape Canyon and Pumice Butte. Because of the fog, all of the plants and trees were wet. As we walked through them on the trail, our pants and shoes got soaked. I didn’t have that great of shoes to begin with so I suffered more as we walked on. We reached the Plains of Abraham, a 2.1-mile moonlike expanse. It was the flattest part of our hike. The fog started to dissipate as we reached the East Dome of Mt. St. Helens. We stopped to admire and take a few pictures before hiking on to Windy Pass. We could see Mount Adams and Mount Rainier in the distance as we walked on.



We hit mile 7, and a switchback up to 4,900 feet to Windy Pass. We definitely know how it got its name. It was so windy up there. We walked down towards the blast zone, a restricted research area that does not allow you to camp there, so we had to make it to the Toutle Trail to camp for the night. At this point, I was miserable. I was tired, my feet were starting to hurt and my shoulders were not used to the extra weight. But I knew it would happen. It started getting warm and dry. As we entered the blast zone, you could see ash, pumice and rocks for miles. Every time you breathed in, you breathed in remnants of 1980. You could see Spirit Lake in the distance.



We took a small snack and water break before we branched off and took the 1.9 mile side trip to Loowit Falls. I really didn’t want to go but I was a good sport and went with them up the trail to the falls. As we walked I gave them some information about the 1980 eruption of the volcano and they wondered how I knew so much about it. For example, I told them all of the land we were walking on at that point used to be the north flank of the mountain before it erupted and caused the largest landslide in North America.



From Loowit Falls to our camp site was probably the most grueling part of the hike. It was a seven miles and poorly marked. Several times we had to create our own path, there were many wash outs and many obstacles we had to over come. There was one creek, I can’t remember the name, where we spent a long time trying to figure out a place to cross and after my shoes dried, I got one of them wet crossing the blasted water, great more friction of the socks and more blisters. We saw a couple herds of elk as we hiked through the barren terrain.



Another time, we made it to this huge valley and had to basically make our own trail up; there was barley enough ground for the width of your foot going up. A wrong step and you tumble down…a long way. We got closer to the tree line, where the blast zone ends and the Toutle River Trail begins.



I saw the trees and I knew we were getting closer to food, rest and taking my shoes off. We made it to the cliff of the Toutle Trail head around 7 p.m. and decided to stay on the cliff. We wouldn’t have made it down to where camp was supposed to be. None of us had enough energy and want to go down to the valley. We found a place to set up camp, it was right on the northwest side of the mountain and technically still in the blast zone. We knew the mountain wasn’t going to erupt and we also knew no one was going to tell us to leave.

We were far away from civilization. It was a very beautiful spot. Throughout the set up of camp, we could hear rocks and rockslides crashing down the sides of the mountain. We heated up some water with the small camp stove and the fuel we brought with us. Shawn and Lindsay had some soup and I had my ravioli MRE. After scarfing that down, I did some surgery on my poor feet. I had a blister or going to be a blister on every single toe. I put my feet up on my pack as I laid in my sleeping bag. Lindsay and Shawn put together their sleeping arrangements and we just laid there talking as it got darker and darker. Lindsay and I said once we got back to the car we were going for hamburgers on the way home. Finally we were so exhausted we all passed out before 9 p.m. You could hear the wind howling through the flaps of the tent as well as rocks sliding down the mountain side. Other than that, you didn’t hear a thing. No birds, no animals howling, just nothing. An eerie silence when the wind wasn’t blowing. I tossed and turned all night. At one point I heard Shawn snoring and Lindsay talking in her sleep. Other than that, it was a pretty quiet night.



We woke up on our own accords because Lindsay didn’t hear her alarm go off. Shawn and I heard it but we just ignored it for more sleep time. I got up because I wanted to get a start on the day so we can get back to the car, about 11 miles away. Lindsay and I started packing up our sleeping gear while Shawn just laid there in his sleeping bag. I got out of the tent and it was beautiful outside. It was just reaching dawn as I took a picture of our tent with the mountain in the background. It’s my favorite picture of the entire trip. Shawn finally got up. I had a snack before we headed down to the Toutle River valley. It was way too early to be hiking my body made sure I knew that. Once we reached the river, where we should have gotten water, we had to climb down and climb out on really steep cliffs.



When we got to the trail head it was up for a couple thousand feet in elevation. I was dying. What a way to start out the morning. I was quickly running out of water too. For the next 5.6 miles, the trail went up and down in elevation and there were many wash outs, without water in them. We finally reached Butte Camp trail head, where we took a break, really worried about the amount of our water.



For the next 3 miles, we scrambled over lava fields and we were desperate, almost losing hope in finding water until we came to an open area. We stopped to listen. I didn’t feel the wind blowing, OH MY GOD, WATER! I have never been this thankful in my life for water. We hustled down to the water source and our spirits instantly rose. I believe the water source was called Swift Creek.



We went over several other lava fields and we could see Mount Hood in the distance. I knew we were getting closer to the south side of the mountain, where the car was. We passed Climber’s Bivouac, the trail that leads you up to the top of the mountain. We hit a grassy meadow and continued through the forest where we dropped in elevation all of a sudden, which was really hard on my knees. Once we finished that portion of the trail, we had about a mile or so back to June Lake. We hit a few more lava beds and entered the forest again as we steadily dropped in elevation towards the lake. We finally hit the beginning of the Loowit Trail head, where we began the journey around the mountain. We took a picture with the trail head sign before I basically ran down the trail to June Lake.



We posed for a few pictures with the lake and the waterfall before heading to the car in the parking lot. I basically ran the entire 1.4 miles back to the car with my 50 lb pack on. I could not wait to take my shoes off and sit. I could not wait for that hamburger. I was so hungry. I threw my pack down and took my shoes off as fast as I could. I dumped water on them because they were covered in ash. My entire body was covered in ash. About 10 minutes later Shawn and Lindsay show up around the corner. We pack up our stuff in the car, we said bye to Shawn and we left the parking lot and headed towards Cougar.



We got out at the Mt. St. Helens sign to take a picture with it and again in Cougar to get a picture with the sign since I am a WSU Cougar. We headed up I-5 and stopped at Harold’s Burger Bar in Centralia, where we literally inhaled our food. I had Doug come get me at exit 88 to go home because Lindsay was going to her grandpa’s house in Lacey to get her dog. I just wanted to go home, take a shower and go to bed. That’s one adventure to last me a lifetime.



Note to people wanting to do the hike: Do your research before you go!!

It’s the beginning of September and my feet are still healing. I couldn’t wear shoes for an entire week after our hike.

Seaside 2010

In April, during the softball season, the girls mentioned that they would like to do some sort of trip with all of us. They wanted to go to Seaside, Oregon. I told them I would do it but they had to plan it. Months went by and I got on them every so often to remind them to talk to everyone and decide on a day. They wanted to do it in July but didn’t know what day. Knowing them, they took care of it the day before we had to leave. I knew that would happen. Mikaila frantically found a hotel online with her mom in Seaside because we were originally going to get one in Astoria. Before that, we were trying to find a camping spot near Seaside. Yeah, campgrounds are hard to find on the Oregon coast. Lots of day use parks but not a lot of campgrounds. Thank god for her mom. She booked it for us the two days before we left.




While I was at work, I got a text message from Ashley, telling me that her mom needed to call me. I kinda got scared. Her mom is intimidating. She just called to give me directions because I had to go get Ashley from Elma. I originally thought she was going to meet us at Rochester; instead we had to go the way I really didn’t want to go. After I finished with work, I hustled over to the Stancil’s house. Thank goodness everyone was there and we didn’t have to wait a long time. I started packing the car and Erika had arranged where we were going to stay so she gave me the details. I paid her my share of the hotel room and we rounded up the gang. We stopped in Rochester because none of them had eaten and I hadn’t either (I’ve been up since 5:30 a.m.) and I was starving. I got a happy meal and we continued on to Elma. The directions to Ashley’s were actually easier than what her mom had made them sound. We told her to hurry up and put her stuff in the car so we can get down there. We got back on the road and headed towards Raymond, on Hwy 101.



A few miles down the road we got stuck in traffic. Figures. About fifteen minutes later, we were driving again. The drive seemed to go on forever and they had the music up really loud. I knew this day was going to be long. We made it to the Astoria Bridge. I didn’t realize the bridge was 2+ miles long. It took forever to get across it. The girls were getting excited because we were about twenty minutes away from Seaside. We got stuck a little bit in traffic but managed to get out of it quickly. After weaving our way through Seaside looking for our hotel, we finally found it. We even got honked at because I thought we were going down a one-way street. Oh well, no one died. Kara came in with me to check us in. They had me sign some paperwork and the lady gave me a couple of room keys. We were the room on the corner. We grabbed our stuff and went into the hotel room. The room was TINY! I couldn’t believe a room like that was over $100. The room was definitely for two people instead of five. We managed. The girls got ready, whatever for, I don’t know and we walked the Seaside strip for a while. We met up with some of their friends that they’ve known for awhile because of a previous basketball tournament and had them take us to the Taco Bell for dinner. Afterwards, we spend a couple hours at the beach. Ashley and I made a sandcastle, Kara and MiAna were in the ocean getting wet, it wasn’t the warmest weather while we were down there, and Mikaila was back and forth between the ocean and us doing the sandcastle. Ashley and I went back to the room and we brought out the soccer ball. We continued to hang out at the beach until everyone got cold. They changed and we walked around the strip again. It was around 9 p.m. and they were hungry again. We met up with them at the Pizza Hut. We hung out for a while and then we went back to the room. They said their goodbye’s and they went home. Then we walked around the boardwalk and the strip again. We got bored and went back to the room. At this point I was really tired. I started putting my bed together. Ashley and I slept on the floor and MiAna, Mikaila and Kara shared the bed. We put our pj’s on, brushed our teeth and chilled. I got on the internet for a bit while the rest of them watched some TV. I fell asleep instantly. Apparently, I got up around 3 a.m. and used the bathroom…and I told Mikaila to turn the TV off because it scared me. Haha, I don’t remember saying that. Then Kara’s Ihome went off and Mikaila yelled at me to turn it off. I didn’t even hear her because I was so tired. She got up and turned it off. I did hear it the next time it went off and I just reached up to the table and hit the button.



We all didn’t get up until about 10:45 that morning. Kara and MiAna called the front desk to see if there was free breakfast food. They told her they stopped serving breakfast around 11 a.m. but there might be some stuff left. They brought back some Apple Danishes. I ate one of them while we got ready and packed up our stuff. We had to be out of there by noon. We crammed our stuff in the car, picked up the room, returned the keys and they decided that they wanted to go shopping. We split up into two groups and hit up different shops. Ashley and I got bored so we walked about eight blocks to the Nike outlet store. We looked at a few other shops too before walking back because we were hungry. We walked the eight blocks back and we talked about her Rainier/Elma dilemma. I hoped that she chose wisely. I had the other girls reserve a spot at Dodger’s, a sea food restaurant. We ate lunch around 2 p.m. and took our time. We got done and decided to continue shopping. We went to the candy store and I picked up a few things. I had to pick up a few sweatshirts as well and went to the place that everything was $12 or less. We walked back to the car and told the girls if they wanted to go to the outlet store that we would have to leave now. I frantically looked through my stuff for my gas card. I called mom to see if she could find it at home. A while later she let me know that it was in my shorts I had worn the last time I got gas. I had to use my debit card for gas. We left our hotel parking lot and tried to find a gas station. The traffic was backed up going south so we found another way around traffic or we’d be there forever waiting. We found a Chevron and had the guy pump our gas because we were in Oregon. I hate getting gas in Oregon. We filled up, the girls used the bathroom and we were on our way to the outlet stores before we left for home. We spent a good hour looking at the stores and I reminded them that we needed to leave. Kara had to get ready for Illinois, Mikaila and Ashley had Riley’s birthday party to go to, I’m sure MiAna had something she had to do and I had to go to a bonfire. I rounded up the girls and we were on our way home. This time, since we didn’t have to go to Elma again, we went the quick way home. Highway 30 to Longview to I-5. We got home around 8 p.m. and I hurried over to Barlow’s house for the bonfire.

Don't Drink the Water!

I decided to write a few down in my notebook to find around Yelm this late afternoon, early evening.  After work my mom and I did a few errands and went home to eat dinner and to take care of our chickens.  I asked if she wanted to go for a ride out to Yelm with me for a bit.  She said sure.  We drove out to Yelm and stopped at Cochrane Park first. 

Cochrane Park serves as the centerpiece of Yelm's water reclamation infrastructure. All the water in the park is reclaimed water that is infiltrated back into the ground to recharge the aquifer.  Therefore, the name of the cache is named appropriately, Don't Drink the Water (GCKC1Q).  I had come here several days ago to find this cache but there were too many teenagers hanging out at the picnic table near its hiding place.  We walked around the small trail to the back of the waterfall and used the hint to our advantage.  I pulled out a film canister from behind a concave rock.  We signed our names and took a few pictures with the small waterfall.

The next one was located on the Yelm Prairie Line Trail, part of the Yelm-Tenino Trail, and we parked in the mini parking lot nearby and walked the short distance to the bridge.  Yelm Prairie Line Trail (GC1MBHK), was also a cache I had to come back for because of teenagers loitering in the area a few days ago.  I knew it would be underneath the bridge...especially because of the cache size.  I crawled underneath with my phone because it was getting dark, to use the flashlight app.  It was really hard to see but with some patience and feeling with my hands, I found the cache right where I thought it was.

The Little Lighthouse on the Prairie (GC14XH0) was located on the corner of the Walmart...the side facing 507...which made it a little difficult to find because of muggles.  I came here twice before but too many people watching me so I came back in the evening to grab it.  Unfortunately there was a guy in a car sleeping but I wasn't sure if he was really sleeping or just hanging out in the car.  I had to be sneaky.  It was a magnetic key holder inside a lamp skirt.  This has been the second cache like this that I've found so far.  I'm sure there will be many more to come.

I put it back and went home and logged them.  I was definitely addicted.

Next Adventure:  Forks and La Push Day Trip

Caching Around Vail and Lawrence Lake

I thought it would be kinda fun to go find a few caches with mom after she got off work.  I went on the website and wrote down a few caches I thought we would be able to find.  Because I didn't have a GPS yet, finding caches were very involved.  I looked at the map, I wrote down all the information I would need off of the logs, the cache details and anything else I could find that would help us.

The first one we came to was called 2000 (GC13B5P) and it was off of the bridge on Vail between Reichel Road and Lindsay Road towards Lawrence Lake.  We pulled over on one of the pull outs near the yellow gates and went over to where we thought it was.  I thought it would be underneath the bridge within the rocks, but then I reminded myself the size of the cache.  We looked and looked and looked and eventually a half hour went by.  Then mom asked me if I looked inside the guardrail.  I didn't (this was my first guardrail cache and I hadn't known about hiding them or finding them inside yet).  Sure enough, I put my hand inside and found an Altoids tin stuck to the top of the rail.

We hopped back in the car and took Lindsay Road towards Lake Lawrence and a small tiny stone cottage that was in need of some TLC.  Little Stone Cottage with a Big Mountain View (GC24H4Y) was definitely in need of some love.  According to some of the neighbors, it's been for sale for years but no one seems to want it.  We got out and started looking.  Without a GPS it was hard since it could have been anywhere.  After looking for several minutes, I zeroed in on where I thought it would be.  I saw the obvious pile of sticks and there was the cache!

There was one more I had written down, Home, Away from Home (GCRG6P) and when we arrived, it was rather difficult to find a place to park.  We parked the car on the side of the road and went to where the hint told us to go.  We found the cache quickly and really hoped the people didn't come out to talk.  I knew they knew about the cache but I am just not too fond about caches on people's property...or near their house.  We signed the log, put a trinket inside and drove home.

Next Adventure:  Don't Drink the Water!

Fossil Rock and Geocaching with Jon

With my new found outdoor hobby I was invited by Jon to accompany him to Fossil Rock. It was a very warm day.  I drove out to the gate and met Jon.  We made sure to park our cars away from the gate just in case Weyerhauser needed to get in and out.  I really didn't want my car towed away especially out here.  Once we got started on the gravel road portion of our walk I kinda wished we would have brought our bikes.  The walk was hot!  I am glad I brought water with me.

We got to the gate that lead up to Fossil Rock.  This is where the elevation gained slightly.  We walked past a giant rock and then wrapped around one more time to a forest of Madrona trees.  Because the Madrona bark flakes off in chunks, it really made it slippery trying to hike up a 45 degree angle.  We basically had to grab the trees and pull ourselves up.  Since he had the GPS I followed him to the edge in which the cache was hidden.

This is what I wrote in my log:  "I've been familiar with the area since 2005. I worked at Camp Cascades for two summers ('05, '06) as kitchen crew, which is just north of fossil rock near Elbow Lake. We made the food that went out to the various satellites on the camp grounds. I made some good friends, whom I still talk to. Many of the counselors and some of the kids took a hike every week or two out to fossil rock for the view and for something different to do besides crafts, swimming, canoeing and horseback riding. I never got to do any of the hikes because we didn't have the time to go out there. Four years later and a great day for hiking I finally got to see the view and to add my tenth cache to my growing list."

We walked back to our cars and thanked him for the cool hike to a very iconic spot with a great view of Mount Rainier.  We discussed another time to go caching and that we would catch up very soon.

Next Adventure:  TBA

Finding My First Caches By Myself

So....I didn't have a GPS yet so I had to research them before I went to go find them.  I used the maps, the logs and the hints as best as I could.  I ventured off one sunny afternoon and looked for my very first cache by myself.  I got in the car and headed to Vail (GC13B5X), a place I have grown up around and found a quick place to park.  I did not intend to be here that long but without a GPS I took me a bit to locate it.  I found it after about ten minutes of searching.  I was so exited to find my first one.  I couldn't imagine what it would be like to find them with a GPS but I knew I could find more much easier.

The view of from the cache site.

The next day I took mom out with me and we went to Vail again and found one called COWZ (GCYCB3) which was colored like a black and white cow and when you opened it, it mooed.  It was awesome.

We got on our bikes and road down Gordon Road, which is Weyerhauser property, and veered off to the right down an unnamed road.  We went for Vail Rockslide (GC1DQ6A).  Based on the map I looked at the cache had to be nearby.  We found a place that looked like something would be hidden there.  I got off my bike and climbed up the small rock hill, looked through the rocks and surprisingly I found it.  I was very surprised and happy at the same time.  I can't believe I found it!  It was an ammo can buried underneath some rocks.  I found this one without a GPS too!

At this point finding one geocache took a very long time.  However, it was fun because it was a bonding experience with whomever I was with looking for it at the time.  As I went out more and more it got easier.  I ended up finding 50 caches without a GPS spanning from July to November.

I am now addicted.

Next Adventure:  Fossil Rock with Jon