This weekend Carolyn and I along with Doug, Naomi and Bob met up with a group of friends from Seattle to climb Mt. St. Helens.
We started at 7:25 am on September 9th. We reached the crater rim around 12:15pm.
The view was amazing. We spent about an hour at the top taking in the view, shooting photos and eating lunch.
The climb back down was very hard on the feet and ankles. We reached Climber's Bivouac at 5pm.
It was a challenging hike, but the view was worth it. It was so neat to see the new cone building up inside the crater and steam coming out.
In general, the Monitor Ridge route to the top of Mt. St. Helens consisted of 2 miles of well kept trail through trees, 2 miles of climbing up a boulder field, and 1 mile of steep gravelly ash to the top.
Here is some more detailed information from the GPS.
Climber's Bivouac: 3,737 feet
Tree Line: 4,836 feet
Crater Rim: 8,281 feet
Elevation Gain: 4,544 feet
9.5 miles round trip
9 1/2 hours round trip
See our path in Google Earth
