Mt. St. Helens

July 1, 2007




We made a day trip to see Mt St Helens.

Our view, wow!






















It's amazing to still see all the trees laying like toothpicks due to the force of the blast 27 years ago.
(Evan took this picture of Fred)

Sue, Erica and Evan checking out the view.

The kids and I decided to take what was thought to be a leisurely 3/4 mile hike to the visitors center. Dad drove ahead in the van to meet us at our final destination.

Here are the kids at the beginning of the hike (note the width of the path at the beginning).

A short time into the hike, I start to notice the trail getting more and more narrow and there are no fences or railings to stop us from falling if we were to slip! Yikes!

Evan is leading on the trail (...as usual), then Erica is in front of me. As we're walking along, I'm scared but I don't want the kids to sense it. Knowing that Fred had already driven ahead to the visitors center, he'd have no way of knowing where we were if we went back!

Erica: "Mom, I'm scared...I want to go back!"
Sue (using her best mom voice): "You're doing fine sweetie, just look straight ahead and keep walking. Just put one foot in front of the other, you're doing great"














It's sort of hard to tell but this is the view looking back at the ridge we hiked along. It was more like a path carved by mountain goats than a hike for humans!

Duh! Here's the sign at the END of the trail!!!

"Steep, Difficult Trail Ahead!"
"Inexperienced hikers or those uncomfortable with heights may find parts of this trail too difficult."