Whittier Ridge-Lakes Loop — Saturday, Sep. 27, 2014

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

Took the most popular route - park at Norway Pass TH and take the Lakes Trail loop. Photo tip - the views from Bear Pass are about as good as those from atop Whittier, so for the less adventurous I recommend stopping there and making an easy day of it. The Lakes Trail was slightly disappointing only because there are so many dark treed sections. But the lake views from overhead are very nice, especially Panhandle Lake (which would be a fantastic camping spot). I was also pleasantly surprised by the patch of still-delicious huckleberries at this late date alongside Obscurity Lake. The Whittier climb was fun and a little scary in a couple spots, although less so than some of the descriptions I've read - the scary parts are literally just a few steps. I got a little lost, as did the party behind me and many others that have written about this hike. But after doing it once, I could easily find my way again and so can you if you follow this rule of thumb for this hike - if you go down off the top more than about ten yards, you're off the trail. There are many spots where it's tempting to go downslope and follow what are clearly trails (used mainly by goats and elk I assume). Don't do it. Stay on the very top as much as possible and you will find the 'trail'. The most difficult spot to discern the trail (going west to east) comes early in the walk along the ridge. You get to a dead end at a canyon where it looks like there's no way across. Don't make my mistake of going downslope on the south face any further than about 10 yds (see above rule). You will find the path at the edge of the canyon that reveals the connecting section of what looked like a true canyon from the ridgetop. This is one of two scary parts, walking along the blasted path with a sheer drop on your right. But this lasts only a few feet. The second scary place for me is somewhere before you reach the peak where you have to walk out a few steps in midair, clinging to whatever rocks you can find. For me, once you've passed this you're done with the heart-stopping portion of the hike. I know lots of folks cite the blasted path that climbs up the north face after the peak, but after the aforementioned spots this was a cakewalk. Maybe because there's a more gentle slope there onto which one would fall - probably lethal, but psychologically less daunting than the sheer drops on the south face. In any case, I really, really advise against doing this traverse if the rocks are wet unless you have the proper equipment or are just way braver than me. It's a doable trek for your average hiker (I was carrying a heavy pack and had only gloves), but there's no room for slipping along much of the traverse. I was robbed of the southern view by a cloud, but the northern view was outstanding!