Length: 4.6 Miles round trip
Elevation Change: 500' Elevation gain/loss
Season: Summer thru Fall
Difficulty: Moderate
Permit: NW Forest Pass Required
Volcano Alert
Call this number to see if this trail is closed: 360-449-7800
Features:
This hike offers one of the very best
opportunities to see the devastation
of the Mt St Helens explosion in
comparative fashion. This hike
takes you from complete and total
devastation to virtual no devastation
and then back into almost complete.
The trail begins across Forest
Road #26 from the Norway Pass
Trail head. The trail climbs fairly
steep at first and at about a half
mile summits. While climbing to
this saddle, you are presented with
excellent views of the Mt Margaret
and Goat Mountain formations.
As you walk east of the saddle, you
will see Mt Adams peeking over the
distant tree covered ridge. The
steep cliffy area to your right, on
the south side of the trail is a
major player in why some of the forest
that you will be hiking through survived
the 1980 explosion.
At about a mile, you can walk off
trail for a few hundred feet to view
a small little pond. In season, this
is a very floral hike. Below you
is a nice meadow.
Now the trail descends a bit, and
enters a small stand of trees that by
fate, and a little help from the large
cliffy area to the south, survived the
explosion of Mt St Helens. This is a
very unique area to examine. You will
see trees with their tops missing, and
beside them, trees with their bark missing.
Then next to those trees you will see
trees that are completely unharmed.
The trail continues to descend and
finally crosses the stream from Ghost
Lake. The bridge may be out, but
the stream is small and not difficult
to cross. Immediately after the
stream is the junction to Ghost Lake
and Trail #1H.
It is another half mile to trails end
along side of the north end of Ghost
Lake. As you approach the lake, you
will wade through a considerable pile
of pumice left over from the 1980
event. All in all, this hike really
demonstrates the variety of effects
of the devastation.
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