I was thinking of taking my annual walk in the Plains of Abraham. Has anyone been around Mt. St. Helens for a look at the current conditions? If I go, I'll post a report.
I'm hoping since it is a little lower that the flowers will be ahead of Mt. Rainier. Am I off-base on that?
You can't go up to the rim but you can still hike around the mountain. The trail around the mountain is the boundary. The trail out onto the Plains of Abraham is the boundary. You can't go towards the mountain off the trail but you can go away from the mountain off the trail.
JT, I'd love to go but I'm pretty booked up. I usually ride the Ape Canyon Trial during this time of year, middle of July. Last year, I went a week later in the month and the flowers were waning.
Oh yeah! I have a show tonight, my Mom and her husband are coming for two weeks starting Tuesday, I have the Trout Lake Art Festival to do next weekend and then backpacking with the family after that. I want to get up there to meet you (finally) but I also need to do a few big Mt Bike rides, more camping and way more photography, I need to retire! Anyone want to buy the Coffee Co.?
I am in hopes of hitting this Sunday or next; however, my school load will determine true availability. Drop me a note if you go and what you find. I will likely approach from Randall / Windy Ridge area.
I'm going to start at Windy Ridge in the afternoon. I'll probably take a mountain bike to the trail head, climb those stairs and start photographing. I like to stay to nightfall and hike out with a light. The last rays of sun up on the ridge are pretty inspiring!
I'm going to go on Sunday. It will be closer to a full moon and the plants will have another day to grow. It is also going to be partly cloudy according to weather.com. Hopefully, that won't bring the wind.
If anyone is interested, I'd be glad to meet you at Windy Ridge.
I took off from Windy Ridge about 3:30 and biked down to the trailhead. It was pretty windy and hot. All the flowers are out, but I wouldn't say that they are as abundant as in years past. There are groupings of flowers of all the different colors but only in a few select areas do they blanket. It seemed drier than usual up there. There is still some snow in the ravines. Many of the heliobore(sp?) are still budding. Some good lupine coverage. I went to the Plains of Abraham and then turned back to setup for sunset shots. It was interesting because a huge cloud bank came in and crashed into Mt. St. Helens. It was neat to watch the cloud twist around it. Rainier was totally covered in clouds by sunset. I got some shots of Mt. Adams. I haven't looked at them yet. The moon only peaked out between the pink clouds. It was a great hike, but I'm not sure of the photographic potential. That wind is so tough.
Discussion
9 repliesI'm hoping since it is a little lower that the flowers will be ahead of Mt. Rainier. Am I off-base on that?
JT
JT, I'd love to go but I'm pretty booked up. I usually ride the Ape Canyon Trial during this time of year, middle of July. Last year, I went a week later in the month and the flowers were waning.
I am in hopes of hitting this Sunday or next; however, my school load will determine true availability. Drop me a note if you go and what you find. I will likely approach from Randall / Windy Ridge area.
Randy Hanna
If anyone is interested, I'd be glad to meet you at Windy Ridge.