Mount St. Helens - Monitor Ridge — Friday, Aug. 4, 2000

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

My wife's boss, a scoutmaster, invited us and another couple to join their troop climbing Mt. St. Helens on Friday. We hit Ptarmigan trail at 6AM on a beautiful, sunny day - sure to be hot. I was impressed by the scouts - they were sturdy hikers, polite, followed directions, and didn't complain. Ptarmigan follows an easy 2 miles to timberline through forest and lupine meadows, with a few tiger lilies scattered here and there. At timberline the trail ends and the route begins, marked by sturdy wooden posts all the way up Monitor Ridge. It starts off with a scramble up a boulder slope, and alternates bewtween sand, scree, and boulders most of the way. At the end of the ridge a steep climb through ash brings you to the crater rim. We enjoyed views of Adams, Ranier, Hood, and Jefferson. At one point I thought I could make out Three Sisters. The climb is grueling, but not technical. Martha stopped at the top of the ridge and insisted I follow the scouts up. I summited at noon, about an hour later than the scouts. The scouts glissaded down while Martha and I mostly hoofed it. Trekking poles definitely helped. We finished off the climb with watermelon at Climber's Bivouac and a dip in Swift Reservoir (can't recommend this lakeside camping unless you have a troop of scouts to cool off - too noisy).