Friday, July 18, 2014

Lava Canyon - One of the Best Hikes Ever!


Lava Canyon, in the south part of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, is a hike I've wanted to do for quite a while. It starts out tame enough, following a series of small cascades downstream, but soon those cascades became real waterfalls, and the trail got a lot steeper.


The sign at the trailhead was pretty scary!


And we soon figured out that every time we saw a Danger sign, there was a good view of a waterfall behind it.


The trail crosses the water a couple times, including a very wobbly suspension bridge.


The view from the bridge. Don't know how I managed to hold the camera still with all the bouncing!


Another off-trail detour to get a picture...


A perfect spot for lunch!


Yes, that's the trail - must be where they sketched the warning sign.


Can you see me coming down the steep trail? I'm not very good at downhills.


Sometimes it's easier to just go down on my butt.


Hey, if Sherry can hug trees, I can hug lava balls....


One more waterfall, where it was clear that the trail would be dropping quickly again.


We turned around there and started back. What a great hike - highly recommended!

10 comments:

  1. Nothing wrong with a butt scoot as long you get down without any broken bones!

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  2. Wow, fantastic hike. Goes on my list. Thanks for the shout out. Any Earth hugging is good!!

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  3. Looks like a great trail. Not so sure I could get across that wobbly suspension bridge, though.

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    1. You actually don't have to go over the bridges - there's another trail that stays on the other side.

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  4. Hope your shorts are reinforced on the backside... ;c)

    Looks like you had a (lava) ball on that hike, despite the danger!

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  5. what a great hike. Not sure I could do it if the trail is too narrow, but I would go as far as I could.

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  6. I was the one who posed for the sign. Great hike.

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  7. Now that's my kind of trail. Thanks for the great pix.

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  8. You and I did a trail on the south end of Mt St Helens that I remember being really nice, but it sure wasn't this one. Wow

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  9. Wow ... quite the trail ... and with views of the waterfall, definitely worth the effort.

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