Sunday, February 22, 2015

2015.2.22. Mt St Helens Climber's Route - June Lake

2/22. Sunday. Beautiful sunny day (a bit windy). Mt St. Helens. Not much snow here.
7 of us started at Marble Mountain Sno Park (special permit required) and followed Worm Flow route, to maybe 5000', less than 4 miles in. No snow till maybe the last 1000' from rim. View of Hood most of the time out of tree line, Adam was only for a little bit, blocked by boulders. Stephanie and I walked further up, while the others were having lunch in a good small camp spot. We saw the big reservoir and the tip of Mt Jefferson, before we turned back.

On the way down, Shannon, Stephanie and I took Pika Ski trail 2440 (the other 4 attempted and decided not to go forward). Boulder hopping most of the time, until a ditch. Small red flowers among boulders.Went down and up the small ditch to the flat shore of June Lake. From afar, it was just a dark shape. June Lake is very small and shallow. But pretty enough. A waterfall flows down to the lake, with perfect reflection. To the left, there's another small waterfall, not as pretty, but it's an easy 5 minute walk. From June Lake, it's an easy flat trail to the June Lake TH parking lot. Take the road, turn right, and right, until our cars, maybe 10-15 minutes.