What a hike, what a fine day! 8.8 miles, 950' elevation gain, time elapsed 6.5 hours.

This 8.8 mile stretch of the legs gave us multiple surprises for our time and effort. With many MANY miles of hiking in Washington state, this was our first hike on Mt Saint Helens. Our simple goal was to get a bit of exercise close to home. Little did we know we would experience our core favorites of hiking - wildflowers, lakes, and beautiful mountain views.

The hike began under somewhat iffy conditions - CLOUDS AND FOG, oh my. No sign of the Saint was evident. One review we read prior to doing the hike mentioned that the fog never did dissipate for the authors. With fingers crossed as we drove the entire highway to the trailhead in clouds, we decided on arrival to take our chances. Multiple miles ensued with a few enticing peek-a-boos of ... more. As we hiked the final mile to the top of Harry's Ridge, the clouds and fog finally burned away revealing HER in all her splendor, just as we crested the ridge. It was quite simply, our lucky day.

Our trek back offered sunshine with full on Mount St. Helens views the entire way. BONUS for keeping the faith! Our final words for our first Mt St. Helens hike? More, please!