Okay so we've done this hike a couple of times before but it's been a while.

We've done it clockwise and counterclockwise to change it up.  This time we went with the clockwise lollipop loop. It's good because you get a lot of the downed-tree, less scenic section done first.  

Off we went through the ash and pumice washout picking our way to the stream crossing to begin our outing.  It seems that the stream from Blue Lake is running wider and deeper than at the time of our last visit.  There is still a makeshift bridge in place that is relatively easy to cross.

Throughout the hike, there were many trees down, several very large.  We were able to get around, over and under them all with some parkour effort.  It's gonna take more than our small saws to make a dent (we did not have saws with us, a hatchet would be nice to cut some steps into the large logs). The section after the Sheep Canyon bridge, up to what I am calling "snack-rock", contains sections that continue to degrade and will presumably sluff right off the slope before too long.

There is a perfect huge rock for a snack or lunch break, I'd have to consult a map to know this, but let's just say it's halfway through the hike to make it sound all the more perfect.  This spot has great views of the Northwest flank of the mountain where we've seen mountain goats each time we've hiked here.

There's not a ton of one thing but there is a nice variety of wildflowers in bloom from trillium, avalanche lilies, phlox, beargrass, Indian paintbrush, lupine, tiger lilies and others I can't name.

Maybe halfway through (before the snack rock) we crossed paths with our first people, a pair of trail runners presumably doing the Loowit. They were deep in their own conversation so we did not interrupt to obtain any details.

AFTER our stop and requisite snack at snack-rock, we ran into one other person on the trail, a solo hiker.  Near the final stretch we saw a party of three in the trees/meadow area digging in the snow but they were not on the trail so I am not counting them as people we encountered on the hike.  Interested to know what they were looking for, but they were far enough off the trail that we did not call out to them.

Bugs:  There were mosquitoes and face flies (you know the little once who like to fly in your face, in your ear, eyes, maybe up your nose).  They were worse in the early forest section (and again when we were exiting the same way) and much better once we transitioned into the more open terrain. 

We made it back in one piece (each), but possibly with a few bug bites.  We will now retire this hike.

 We traveled the road to the Sheep Canyon TH by bike and then hiked the short trail to Sheep Canyon creek from there.  The road that leads to the Sheep Canyon trailhead has been washed out for years. Once we pushed our bikes through the washout, and carried them over Cold Springs creek we were on our way. The decommissioned road has some wider sections, while other sections are fairly overgrown. There are several gullies to navigate making for a good workout. We arrived at the old trailhead parking lot which is fairly overgrown, where we left our bikes to make the short hike to the bridge at Sheep Canyon. The trail is in good shape especially considering you can't drive to the TH. There is a bit of blowdown, and a section that is overgrown, but nothing too difficult to navigate.  We saw no one all day on the Sheep Canyon trail OR the decommissioned road.

This was a cool hike in the shade of old-growth forest on a warm day.

We drove to the trailhead at the end of Forest Road 8123. The trailhead has been pulled south since the last time I was here due to continued movement and flooding from the Blue Lake Mudflows off the slope of Mount St. Helens. ("Day Hiking Mount St. Helens" erroneously blames the flooding on Coldspring Creek.) FR 8123 is very rough and eroded, with some large rocks sticking out of the road base, so a high clearance vehicle is recommended.

We parked on the shoulder of FR 8123 and walked towards the barricade at the end of the road. The trail began on the right; we followed it through the forest paralleling the former road which is now a debris field of rocks and sand with deep, dry channels.

In about .2 mile, we arrived at the junction with the Toutle Trail. Turning right leads to the Blue Horse Trail and the Butte Camp Trail. We turned left to follow the Toutle Trail north, soon passing a junction with the Fossil Trail. The trail crossed gravelly and rocky channels as we gradually trended towards Coldspring Creek at the base of the ridge to the west. We could hear the creek but we couldn't see it through the alders and young firs getting established on the debris plain.

At about .7 mile, we reached the crossing of Coldspring Creek. Trail gnomes have built a nice set of planks across the creek that kept our feet dry.

We walked along Coldspring Creek to reach Blue Lake, which was formed by past mudflows impounding the creek behind a rock dam. We then began a gradual climb through old-growth forest of primarily noble fir and silver fir. We found both oval-leaf and thin-leaf huckleberry plants with ripening fruit, which we sampled.

The paradise of cool shade and impressively large old trees was marred by nasty biting flies, so we stopped to apply repellent. Even the dog couldn't snap fast enough to keep the flies from biting her.

We hiked at a botany and mushroom hunting pace, looking for interesting late summer wildflowers and mushrooms, birds and other wildlife. We observed a Cooper's hawk take a small bird and we saw a western toad next to the trail.

At 3 miles, we reached Huckleberry Saddle, which now is forested and no longer has many huckleberry plants since the 1970s clearcut has grown back and mostly blocked the view of Mount St. Helens once visible from there. The Blue Horse Trail did not appear to receive much use as the tread was faint as it headed down a former logging road.

We continued straight ahead on the Toutle Trail, crossing over the ridge dividing Coldspring Creek from Sheep Creek, and descended through magical ancient forest to reach a junction with the Sheep Canyon Trail at about 3.3 miles. We turned onto the Sheep Canyon Trail for a few steps to cross a creek on a bridge and reach a campsite on the east side. This was a nice, cool and pleasant spot for lunch.

After lunch, we visited the Toutle Trail bridge across Sheep Canyon before turning back the way we came. We hiked 7.25 miles with 813 feet of elevation gain.

This trip report is for Blue Lake Trailhead to some point between Blue lake and Huckleberry saddle. I was short on time and found a spot along the trail that compelled me to stop and just drink in my surroundings. 

First off, driving directions, coming from the Woodland area. Knowing the general directions, I didn't realize I didn't have my GPS turned on until I was about to Cougar and then I didn't have a strong enough signal to get turn-by-turn, so I went by the book, Day Hiking Mount St. Helens  by Craig Romano and Aaron Theisen, published by Mountaineers Books (I had it with me, just in case). Forest Road 81, the turn off of 503, isn't marked as such, but is well marked with signs for Kalama Horse Camp and Merrill Lake; it is a turn off to the north. The book makes it sound as though you're going to just follow this road straight until it ends. Don't. You will end up on logging roads and not where you want to be if you're trying to get to the Blue Lake TH. My guess is that the road used to make a curve to the right and the logging road wasn't there. You will need to make a right hand turn to stay on the paved road. You will pass Kalama Horse Camp on your right. Keep going. The road turns into 8123 if you go straight where it turns to gravel; keep going straight. It's 2.5 miles to the end and the trailhead, not the 1.5 miles printed in the book. I don't know if they were able to extend the road since the 2015 printing or what. The gravel road does get rough in places. From what I understand, this used to be a "real" road until the floods of '96 and it hasn't been maintained. I have a POS 2 wheel drive that I scrape on parking lot curbs all the time if I pull too far forward and I didn't hit bottom once, so unless your vehicle is lowered or something, you should be fine. 

There's no parking lot, just side of the road. There were 3 other vehicles parked when I got there, all on the opposite side of the trailhead, so I followed suit. There are no maps or anything, so don't count on taking a picture and using that for navigation. Not that I recommend doing that anyway. The other vehicles were displaying Discover Passes, but this is in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - you need a NW Forest Pass. 

The trail starts out with mixed rock and ash. At the first crossroad, not far into the hike, take a left to head toward Blue Lake, 1/2 mile. Soon after, you will come to a dry gully. Not sure if this was once a creek bed, mud flow, or what. I crossed paths with a gentleman who had been there several times (it was my first trip) and he said it was always empty. We were both trying to figure out where the trail picked up on the other side. Our side was marked with an orange reflective triangle on a tree trunk and orange trail tape, but there was no corresponding markers on the other side. I finally spotted a series of two cairns and we followed them to the opposite side. My fellow traveller remarked that there should be a crew coming along soon to do some trail maintenance and wondered aloud if the crossing farther up the trail was passable. I could hear the creek he was refering to from this point. 

The trail does not make a beeline for Coldspring Creek from here, but heads upstream a little. At one point, I think the trail makes use of an old creek bed or mud flow, then heads back to the creek. There are 3 sections of boards that have been laid across the creek for crossing. They're not wide, just two 2x4s nailed together, but they get the job done and have been placed recently. The guidebook and map refer to this crossing as a ford and had me a little hesitant to make this trip, but I needn't worry. The water wasn't terribly deep, but cold and rocky, which probably means slippery, so if you go and there aren't boards to cross on, please be very cautious and use good judgement if you choose to ford. 

From there, there isn't much to tell. The rock and ash is left behind and it's all dirt from here. Access to the lake is limitted. There is something of a trail that appears to go around. I'm not sure if this is a trail that has pretty much been abandoned or a user created trail; I didn't have time to explore very far.

Continuing beyond the lake, there were a few very small patches of snow; maybe 15 feet wide. Not slick and not too sloshy yet. Elevation gain was gentle; a few steps built in here and there. Lots of huckleberry, wood violets, and trillium. Just lovely. Treated to the drumming of a woodpecker; I thought it was a pileated, but I never made out that famous red head, so don't quote me on that. 

Camping nearby that I did not take advantage of: Dispersed camping outside of the monument, Merrill Lake, RV hookups & Cabins available in Cougar (12 miles).

Hope this was helpful. I know I look forward to going and spending more time without spending time driving around following not quite accurate driving directions.