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| Hiking | 10.50 Miles |
5,730 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.50 Miles | 7 Hrs 12 Mns | | 1.46 mph |
| 5,730 ft AEG | | 20 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | First trip up Mt. Saint Helens!
Since its light out until well past 9pm, I was planning to start around noon. But I woke up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. I eventually let my house at 8am and made it to the trailhead shortly before 10am. There were about 20 other cars in the parking lot, when I purchased my permit 2 days prior there were 60 other permits claimed for the day.
It was partially cloudy in the parking lot and slightly cool. The trail was snow free for the first mile or so, then I started encountering patches of snow for the next 1.5 miles. I leap frogged another couple for most of the day.
We all made the mistake of following the east ridge up the base of the mountain and ended up going up some sketchy steep sections of snow that did not have tracks on them. The wind was incredibly powerful and we were getting pelted with shards of ice that felt like glass. Eventually we discussed things and decided to contour a bit to the west to get a view of alternative routes up the mountain. Way off in the distance we spotted a trail marker on the top of the west ridge, so we spent 15-20 minutes readjusting our course and contouring along the mountain until we came upon the proper path that was covered in boot prints. Following the wrong course probably set us all back a good hour or so and definitely tired me out.
Back on the right path, it was now a fairly straight shot uphill to the summit. We passed several other groups of hikers- some glisading down, others on skis. Although exhausted from our detour, it was still much easier to walk uphill following previous footprints then having to kick my own path up a wall of snow and ice.
I am very glad I wore my microspikes- they were super useful and did an amazing job keeping traction in the snow. I also bought an ice axe specifically for this trip and am very glad I did so. At one point when we were contouring along the hillside to regain the correct path I lost my footing and slid downhill on my back for a good 20 yards until the slope flattened out. Up until this point I had been hiking with just my two treking poles, but after my slide I pulled out the ice axe and felt more comfortable for the duration of the hike.
I carried about 4 liters of water on the hike and did my best to keep hydrated and eat snacks along the way. But on the return trip both of my legs began cramping up. This is becoming a standard occurrence now on any hikes that last more than a couple of hours and I don't know what the issue is. It was extremely painful (and unsafe) to not be able to walk properly as I made my way down the mountain. The cramps ran the whole length of my legs and were worse than I have ever experienced.
After reaching the end of the snow zone and putting my microspikes and axe away, I began to make my way downhill again and immediately took a nasty tumble down a rocky section of trail. I landed on my left side and slid 180 degrees. I immediately knew my left arm was injured- it was covered in blood and swollen, but I could still wiggle my fingers and I could bend my arm. I knew there was really nothing I could do about my elbow on trail, so I got myself up and just headed straight downhill without taking another look at the arm. Now that I am home I feel very fortunate that I didn't break anything- my arm is swollen and badly bruised, but otherwise I am good to go! |
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