Mont St. Helens South Face

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CoyoteCreationsNW

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This was taken from the Windy Ridge Observatory, open for a few months in the summer when the roads are clear of snow.
Mt St Helens South Face S1.jpg
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I have been to Windy Ridge once, enough for me. I refer to the drive as a 10 mile black top mountain goat trail!!! Going TO Windy Ridge no big deal; it was a white knuckle drive returning. Zero guard rails and only the smallest bump on the edge indicating you are at the shoulder. Beyond that bump...nothing but over the edge and down, down, down. Driving back I straddled the centerline of the road as long as there were no vehicles coming head on. Going around some corners, you are looking out into sky and nothingness with your only reference point the other side of the road. Did that drive once, would be hard pressed to ever attempt it again. ONLY reason I went to Windy Ridge, wanted some pics of Spirit Lake. That drive was one of the scariest I have ever undertaken.
 
Last September I grabbed my D850 and started walking the Boundary Trail from the Johnston Observatory; I was retracing the walk I had made with my granddaughter a few years prior. I was just about ready to head back when I encountered another walker on the same trail; this person told me about the view around the next bend and ridge, and to my surprise there was Spirit Lake ahead and Windy Ridge towering over the lake. I was glad I had gone the extra quarter mile or so. Had I had the time I could have gotten very close to the shore of Spirit Lake. It was me personal best walk at MSHNVM so far.
 
I have been to Windy Ridge once, enough for me. I refer to the drive as a 10 mile black top mountain goat trail!!! Going TO Windy Ridge no big deal; it was a white knuckle drive returning. Zero guard rails and only the smallest bump on the edge indicating you are at the shoulder. Beyond that bump...nothing but over the edge and down, down, down. Driving back I straddled the centerline of the road as long as there were no vehicles coming head on. Going around some corners, you are looking out into sky and nothingness with your only reference point the other side of the road. Did that drive once, would be hard pressed to ever attempt it again. ONLY reason I went to Windy Ridge, wanted some pics of Spirit Lake. That drive was one of the scariest I have ever undertaken.
We were on our way home from a weekend camping trip so I towed our pop-up camper up that road. Would go again, but not with a trailer.
 
This is beautiful! Visiting Mt St Helens is high on my bucket list. A friend of mine, who knows my love for all things volcanic and geology-related, sent me an envelope full of ash from the eruption that they had collected in their yard. It's amazing to see all the recovery its made since 1980. And it makes for a great story in this photo! The bright green of life returning, cut across by the grey of the crater. I love it!
 
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