(submitted by Aaron T.) This weekend in Mt St Helens was truly memorable. We started out with
Sugatta, Carrie, and myself which is a comfortable intimate size. We
then got two more folks joining in and headed up to the mountain for
some peace. The first night we spent at a campground, and so that was
less peaceful, however we slept alongside the lake and enjoyed a
magnificent sky.
After heading out, we did some great hiking and connected with the
streams near Swift Reservoir. After that we went to the staging area
where the road to Lava Canyon was closed. This was perfect because
since Rt 83 didn't loop around, the place was minimally populated. We
had a challenging ride up to June lake and picked wild blueberries.
Then we took a hike past the waterfall where I took a shower. The
evening was peaceful and we talked late into the night.
Sunday dawned bright and clear as we packed up and rode towards Marble
Mountain. There was a bit of a communication issue as I headed towards
the road and thought it would join a gravel road to the mountain. We
found our way around the river washout and headed up the gravel road to
3000 ft. The views of the mountain were just okay, but the
peacefullness was awesome. I actually had the opportunity to ride
Sugatta's 'SUV' bike down the hill and it was a unique experience. I
now understand the mountain biking bug more than ever. As the evening
approached, we bid farewell to our other companion Shaun and headed out
to a remote trail for our final night of camping. It was a wonderful
bonding experience to spend the night along a remote trail. We had more
wonderful conversation and good food before laying down for the evening
and enjoying the kaliedescope of the evening sky.
As dawn's rays stretched over the tree tops, Sugatta and I had some good
conversation and when we were all ready, we hiked along the isolated
trail. We saw amazin sights and picked blueberries and huckleberries.
The peace was completely unbroken up to the point where we packed our
campsite and rode down to the parkin lot.
Start
13 of us gathered together on Brooklyn St and climbed aboard several vehicles for the trip to the Marble Mountain snow-park which lies just below the road closure on Hwy 83 and is where we met up with the 3 who had camped out for a couple days prior to our arrival. It came together nicely, just the way it was supposed to, due to Archer's logistical efforts.
(Click image above for more pics of Start)
The Ride
A road with no cars is an awesome and wonderful thing! Two lanes of smooth riding with no fears of getting run over.
(Click image above for more pics of The Ride)
Washed Out Road
Most people may think of a washed out road as an unfortunate dilemma but it is thanks to this particular washout that we were blessed with a vehicularly unoccupied road. We had been warned about the difficulty of getting through this barrier but it was really no more difficult than lifting our bikes up and carrying them for 50 yards or so.
(Click image above for more pics of The Washed Out Road)
Mt. St. Helens
The views of the top of Mt. St. Helens were truly awe inspiring and seeing it from the seat of a bicycle added so much to the experience.
(Click image above for more pics of Mt. St. Helens)
Lava Canyon
Two members of our advance scout party (actually just two people who had ridden on ahead of those of us who were still too awe struck to leave the views of the mountain) came back with the bad news that signs were posted stating that Lava Canyon was not open to the public. We discussed it and decided that the best way to deal with bad news is to ignore it entirely, so we continued on our way to the top! We'd come too far to give up within such close reach of our destination. The signs warning us of the possibility of our deaths only served to amuse us rather than scare us off!
(Click image above for more pics of Lava Canyon)
Suspension Bridge
I'll have to admit that this was just a little bit scary! Archer and I were the first ones to reach the bridge and I was contemplating crossing it when Archer began pointing out what she suspected might be structural weakenings in the bridge and voiced her concern that the walkway itself could flip if careful balance wasn't maintained. With those words in mind and visions of hanging from the cable by my hands as my body hung over the abyss for those final few moments before I plummeted to my death, I got about a fourth of the way across and chickened out and came back! Others from our group soon joined us though and after a bit of discussion one brave soul showed us how it was done and walked across the bridge which soon started each of us tackling it in turn.
(Click image above for more pics of The Suspension Bridge)
Hummus
This ride report would not be complete without mentioning Dawn's 5-flavored hummus feast that was a huge hit with the entire group with the exception of one poor misguided soul who labors under the delusion that hummus can kill you!
