Mount Saint Helens Solo Summit

I grew up in Lewis County, with Mount Saint Helens practically in my backyard. It was one of my school's field trips growing up and I remembered finding a bottle of the ashes and old newspapers from the explosion in my mom's closet that were fascinating to my young brain. As I got older and moved to Seattle, Mount Rainier became my backdrop and Mount Saint Helens faded into the background.

Fast forward to 2016, when I learned that you could climb mountains as an ordinary person and I summited Mount Rainier, my interest in climbing other mountains was piqued, but I didn't really hangout with people that did this. Then in 2018, one of my best friends told me she had gotten a permit for Mount Saint Helens and asked if I was free, but unfortunately the timing did not line up, and she ended up going by herself.

Now, two years later, with a remote job and nothing tying me down, I've been making plans. With plans to head to Seattle, I was checking the status of Mt. St. Helens via the Forest Service website and looked up permits as soon as it reopened from the COVID-19 closures in early June. It was meant to be, as there was one permit available on June 23rd or June 24th. I quickly committed to Wednesday, June 24th and printed off my permit from Recreation.gov.

I drove up to the Climber's Bivouac trailhead on Tuesday, June 23rd after working from a friend's home in Vancouver, Washington. The parking lot was fairly empty and I was able to easily find a flat spot to park my truck. With the late sunset, I had plenty of time to prep my gear and layout my sleeping arrangements in the back of my truck and settle in for the night. I set my alarm for 5 a.m. to start hiking right after sunrise on Wednesday morning.

Sleeping in my Truck

My key gear list included:

• Trail running shoes with gaiters

• Microspikes

• Ice Axe

• Hiking Pole

• Long hiking pants over running shorts

• Long sleeve button up over a tank top

• Baseball cap

• Hiking Pack

• Rain Pants and Warm Jacket Layers

• Emergency Bivy Bag

• Garmin InReach

• Cellphone

• Bean Burritos and Snickers Bars

• 3.5 Liters of Water with Electrolytes

• Other essentials: sunglasses, first aid kit, headlamp

I was on the trail by 5:30 a.m. and signed in at the trailhead hiking register with my permit information. Conditions were good with only light clouds and temperatures in the 50s. As I climbed up past the trail section to the screen and boulder fields, I was greeted with beautiful views of Mount Adams, Mount Hood and the valley below. There were still snowfields to the sides of the trail but I opted to stay in the scree and boulders for as long as possible and followed the trail marker posts that were easy to see up ahead.

Soaking up the sun before the wind kicked in, with views of Mount Adams

Winds were forecasted around 25 miles per hour, and after getting past the large boulder field and back to the scree, the wind was starting to whip. Clouds were starting to obscure the valley more and I felt like I could see the clouds flowing over the mountain around me and starting to form lenticular clouds on the other side. The winds definitely stronger than forecast and myself and the other climbers were leaning forward and pushing into the wind as we steadily climbed upwards.

Start of the Scree and Boulders on Monitor Ridge

Upon hitting the ridge line where you need to turn left for the final summit push, the scree switched to more snow, and when I reached the section where you have to go downhill it was time to strap on my micro spikes. The wind had pushed clouds over the summit and reduced visibility as I made my final approach, so I was extra cautious to take my time and be aware of where the crater ridge was as I did not want to get too close for risk of a snow cornice breaking away (and a slight fear of heights).

Crater view through the Clouds

The summit itself was not clearly marked to me, and as the clouds were blocking any view, I kept crossing the crater ridge on the scree and was finally rewarded with a glimpse into the crater. After checking my map, and determining I had definitely crossed over the summit, I turned around to start heading back down. Due to the winds continuing to move the clouds along quickly, I was given a great view of Spirit Lake and Mount Rainier off in the distance in the section between the summit and false summit.

Spirit Lake and Mount Rainier

The hike down was much harder in the loose scree and boulders, than on the way up. Crossing down over the boulders, I ended up with both knees cut from knocking into the sharp edges (though surprisingly my pants did not get ripped). I slipped in the scree multiple times, having some minor falls which left my legs even more tired. And the trail markers were a bit harder to follow, plus there were upper and lower trails in the scree sections that led me slightly off trail, but I was able to course correct quickly. I made sure I was well hydrated and kept snacking to keep my energy up and pushed to get back to the parking lot in just under 7 hours round trip.

Beat Up Knees and Shins

While not my favorite summit day experience due to the low energy on the way down, I am happy to have finally climbed my childhood mountain. My solo summit preparations were well organized, similar to how I felt about my Mount Shasta solo summit. Opting for lighter trail runners and micro spikes worked well at the lower elevation and temperatures for the day. And my jacket layers came in handy for being comfortable in the wind. I still had 1/2 liter of water by the time I returned to my truck and leftover food. And while I didn't glissade on the way down, I am always glad to have my ice axe and extra safety gear. I had caffeine before I hit the trail this time, but probably needed to take a longer break, have caffeine or eat even more food before coming down. But somedays you just don't feel as good for reasons outside of what you can control. If I attempt Mount Saint Helens again, I feel confident to stick to the same setup while adjusting for weather conditions.

Next mountain on the list, Mount Adams, I've been staring it down from Rainier and now Helens for too many years. Until then, time to spend some time with family and do a few shorter hikes along the way.

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