Pam led us out and - as usual - we made the first 2 miles to the bathroom area in great time. We took a quick break and then headed into the waiting boulder field. From the bathroom it is only 1/4 mile to the treeline where the bouldering begins.
On Mt St Helens, the bouldering also signals the beginning of the steepest part of the climb. We headed into the boulders with Jean Claude, a climber from Switzerland that we met near the bathroom. His climbing buddy bailed at the last moment so he was glad to hike with others in the dark. Good thing he was since he corrected an early bad turn in our trek.
Jean Claude hung with us for a while and then excused himself to head up a little faster. We did run back into him later when we found him huddled among the boulders. By then the wind had picked up and was steady over 20 MPH with gusts over 30. He indicated that he was using "time management" now so as not to be exposed on the summit too long before sunrise. The boulders he was in were the last of them before the final stretch of steep scree fields.
Since we were all past the boulders we decided to break into varying speed groups to the summit. There is only about .7 of a mile left, but there is also over 1200 ft of elevation in that distance. Jean Claude led the way for the first group and I took up the rear in that group - forming my own group of one might be more accurate.
I was struggling with a cold for the second year in a row on the summer route and I didn't have great lungs for it. I had plenty of time so I just kept plugging away.
I crested the rim just in time to see some great pre-sunrise light acting on some clouds near Mt Rainier. In a 30 MPH wind you can sometimes bail on pretty in favor of warmth, but this kind of light makes a bad photographer look like a genius so I was determined to get my glory shot - dust storm notwithstanding.
After Jean Claude, Lisa, Garry and Chris summited then Me and soon followed by Sue. There was a break to the last three, but Pam and Brenda also made it in time for sunrise. Jeanie had become too cold for her taste so she headed back to the boulders for some wind cover. She waited on us there.
We got our glory shots and Brenda added a video and we were headed back down. Descending Mt St Helens is NOT a treat. Until the last 2.25 miles there is no defined trail - just lots of boulder and scree options, none of which really look inviting.
I had planned to make breakfast for the group so we decided on the way that Garry and I would blast off at a rapid pace once we made the treeline so we could get a start on everything. We hit the trailhead 9 hours after we began and shot down to Marble Mt Sno Park where the RV was parked and began breakfast prep. I woke Athena up so after a big, catlike stretch I tethered her outside so I could cook.
The rest of the group was about 25 minutes behind us which worked pretty well. It was only 10 minutes or so before the food was on and we all feasted. Some of us were napping a little along the way which is to be expected.
Part of the group had to leave Saturday and Bob and Sue had their trailer in the site we had reserved for Saturday night so we hung out at the Sno Park for a good hour after they left to give them time to pack up and give us time to get our stuff together.
We said goodbye to Chris and headed to Lone Fir for the night and met Gary and Lisa there. Garry also joined us there. We enjoyed a great afternoon of snacks and wine and eventually some square dancing began on the property. They weren't all gussied up so we didn't take pictures, but it was fun to listen in on anyway.
All in all it was yet another Mt St Helens trip that will never be replicated like every other one. I guess that's why we keep doing it. Something about spending time with other like minded people doing something really cool that makes life seem better.
Be very well and more soon....
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