Adventures in Scouting: Mount St. Helens, October 10-11, 2014

Mount St. Helens, October 10-11, 2014
Although our ranks were decimated by life events, so we only had 3 boys make it, we had an unforgettable adventure at Mount St. Helens. After hastily setting up camp near Bear Meadow, we drove to Windy Ridge to begin our 9-mile hike to Loowit Falls, which comes out of the crater. Weather was perfect - Thanks Moms, for praying for us. It sprinkled a few times during the night, from which some of us learned some valuable lessons. Saturday morning was incredibly sunny, much to our surprise and delight. (Thanks again, Moms.) After breakfast and breaking camp, we drove to Harmony (formerly Harmony Falls, but since the lake is now 300 feet higher than it used to be, it swallowed the falls) to hike down to Spirit Lake. As we were finishing lunch, it started to sprinkle, which convinced us to head back up the hill. (Otherwise, we might have stayed there for another hour, so thanks for that, also, Moms.) It stopped raining after a few minutes. On the drive home, we went through a car-wash-like downpour that would have seriously dampened our spirits had we encountered it an hour earlier. We were incredibly blessed, with good weather, seeing lots of mountain goats and elk, lots of water coming over the falls, and tons more logs piled up at our spot on the lake than I've ever seen. I was very sad that so many of our Scout buddies missed out on this excellent adventure.

The view from Bear Meadow

Camp site near Bear Meadow

A Scout is Clean

The view from the trail

Checking out 5 groups of mountain goats

One of the groups

Getting close to Loowit Falls

Giving the shoulders a break

Almost there

Resting from our labors

Johnston Ridge, with Harry's Ridge at the edge of Spirit Lake. The tiny dark horizontal line at the top left of the ridge is the Johnston Ridge Observatory (from which you can hike to Loowit Falls, if you are so inclined).