This is my second trip on Boundary West, but this time I journeyed past the observatory a ways to get a better look at Spirit Lake. 

I hiked just past the Old Devil's Elbow (decommissioned) and was delighted to see 10 mountain goats up on Johnston Ridge. This lead me to just about the T where you can head  up or down the Truman Trail (I intend to do both later). Going up, I think one can make their way a somewhat short distance up to Harry's Ridge, which I am guessing awards an even cleaner view of Spirit Lake. 

Tight on time, I enjoyed lunch atop a rocky hummock with my silent goat friends close by. The view from here into the St. Helens crater across the valley is the most centered I've ever seen. 

I neglected to bring my sun hat, but luckily I had some sunscreen. I recommend both as there is little to no shade overall. 

The observatory area is always desolate, and gives a somewhat post apocalyptic vibe- which I suppose is fitting for this area. I imagine this will change if the road washout is ever repaired. 

Saw two hikers on the way in and eight on the way out. So an even hiker to goat ratio. 

Looking forward to exploring more in this incredibly beautiful area. 

RT 12.6m/2050ft 

While the road is washed out, this hike is a beautiful way to get to the Johnston Ridge Observatory (still closed - no facilities). From my stats, it was 10 miles out and back. Took 2 hours 40 minutes to get to Johnston Ridge, hung out there for an hour, and then back down the trail took 2 hours 20 minutes. 

The majority of elevation gain is in the first 3ish miles and once the Hummocks trail joins the Boundary trail, it is really exposed. The temp was in the 70s and it was HOT for those 3 miles. Bring all that water, sun protection, find shade, and take breaks as needed. As you get higher, you'd catch a breeze which felt amazing. The trail gets a little narrow along some scree field crossings.

The wildflowers were abundant and amazing - orange Indian paintbrush, foxglove, daisies, yellow flowers, lupine. 

Once at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, it's like you're on a movie set. The wildflowers are taking over the parking lot, there's this amazing mountain in front of you, and it is totally deserted. No other humans were there. We sat in a shady spot and enjoyed the silence and nature's majesty.

As mammals go, we only saw chipmunks on the trail until we were coming down. In an open field area, we saw 3 golden coated coyotes looking to take down a deer. We were higher on a ridge and they disappeared behind a hill so I don't know what happened. We thought the coyotes might be wolves and later learned from Mt. St. Helens staff that they were most likely coyotes.

Also, the WTA site says you need a Northwest Forest parking pass for the trailhead lot. I didn't see signs saying any passes were needed for parking.

Kind of a major "why haven't I done this before" moment with the Mt. Margaret Backcountry this weekend. Ended up having a lovely 30mi and 7,500ft gain loop around the Mt. Margaret Backcountry via the Boundary Trail starting from Coldwater Lakes TH.

Big thanks to the previous trip reports for the route idea and the much needed trail maintenance this season. There's a lot to cover in such a small area so I'll break it down piece-by-piece. I've also attached an image of the map of the loop to the TR.

Dogs?

• WTA, AllTrails, and several other sources (including the Visitor Center) all say dogs are prohibited in the monument's restricted area
• I've heard mixed things, so I called in and was directed to an area map revised in 2022
• A lot of trail signage will still be mixed about dogs/no dogs
• Definitely still not allowed at the Observatory
• If I'm in the wrong on this, I apologize and I condemn myself to pickup 5 poop bags off Lake 22's trail

Coldwater Lake TH to Johnston Ridge Observatory

• Could've started this at Hummocks TH as well, but figured I'd get the road walk out of the way first
• Very pleasant and well graded trail up to the Observatory with straight in-your-face views of MSH
• Carry a lot of water - this section is extremely exposed and the nearest water even close to the trail is in 8 miles

Johnston Ridge Observatory to Bear Pass

• Ignoring my own advice above, I was running pretty low on water...but found a somewhat-dependable trickle of a creek just down the Truman Trail about 0.1 of a mile (around 8mi from Hummock TH)
• Otherwise, next dependable water is Grizzly Lake...but this time of year, I found water melting from snow patches and reserves from just before Mt. Margaret onwards (Bear Camp has a strong flow right now)
• I've eaten a lot of berries before, but the strawberries right after the Coldwater Peak turnoff might be the best berries I've ever had in my entire life (and they lasted for miles too)
• There's a bit of climbing here, but the trail is in excellent condition given that the road to it's main TH has been washed out for two years

Bear Pass to Snow Lake

• This section is a little rough - salmonberry bushes frequently topped out over me
• It wasn't horrendous, but the really overgrown sections between Bear Pass and Panhandle Lake really did cut down on speed
• I got a permit for Panhandle and it was lovely - quiet with a slight breeze, trout jumping, and almost no bugs?

Snow Lake to Coldwater Lake TH

• Still a bit brushy, but not nearly as bad as after Bear Pass
• Previous reports in July of this year mention some less-than-ideal snow traverses: pleased to say these are all gone now
  • The one up by the Shovel Lake turnoff is still there, but an easy shimmy up and around it
• The big unknown this section were the washouts as previous TRs had described
  • There were really two of note, only one of consequence (photo)
  • Most should be able to get around these...worst come to worst, could dig the steps deeper with a trowel or something
• Every single type of berry! Salmonberry, mountain & red huckleberry, strawberry, European blackberry, thimbleberries and likely more I didn't spot
• Trail conditions immediately improve just before the Coldwater Trail intersection

And if you're interested in the history of the area (specifically with the 1980 eruption), this Google map is a great resource to save offline. Has a lot of historic locations of places like Coldwater 2.

This is a bold statement to say less than a week into the summer, but I think this is the best hike I'll take all season. We had great views almost nonstop, wildflowers and wild strawberries abound, and hardly saw anyone. In the whole ten-ish miles from the Hummocks Trailhead to Johnston Ridge and back, we only saw 20 people in total (spread across less than 10 groups), and spent almost the entire hike in complete solitude with only the sounds of nature. We had both Loowit Viewpoint and Johnston Ridge entirely to ourselves in the early afternoon. Mt. St. Helens was partially covered by clouds despite the sunny weather on trail, but it cleared up after not too long and even Mt. Adams made an appearance!

All together, we were on the trail for 6 hours, including a long lunch break at the Loowit Viewpoint and me limping back after pulling a muscle. Almost the entire trail is in the open with no tree cover, but it was in the 60s all day so we were comfortable. Besides those notes, this was the best hike I've had in years and I cannot recommend this gem enough.