Kalama River - Cinnamon Ridge Loop

[bobcat]

I was happy to get great weather and no smoldering fires to douse on this hike, which has been reported on by mileagemike with some frequency. However, I did not get to gainfully employ my Northwest Forest Pass at the Kalama Horse Camp, which had been federally furloughed. After parking at the gate, I struck out along the Kalama River on the Toutle Trail. I hiked through a carpet of moss and reindeer lichen above the river, which has gouged a ravine through layers of St. Helens lahar here. There is much erosion and collapse of the soft river banks. The Toutle Trail reaches McBride Lake, once a shallow pond/wetland that is now all but filled in by debris flows. Here you also get your first big views of Mt. St. Helens as the trail rises through old growth Douglas-fir and western hemlock. After crossing an extensive slope of vine maple, I reached the confluence with the Cinnamon Trail at Red Rock Pass.

The return on the Cinnamon Trail, which switchbacks up to and then follows Cinnamon Ridge, is about 8 ¼ miles. This route offers the best views of the south side of St. Helens of any trail. At its east end, you also get a vista towards Mt. Adams and Indian Heaven. At the west end of the ridge, you can see past the west shoulder of St. Helens to Coldwater Peak and Mt. Rainier. Stands of magnificent old growth (noble fir, western hemlock, Douglas-fir) also characterize sections of the hike although this alternates on the ridge with regenerating clearcuts. The trail sees use by horses and mountain bikes and so is rutted in places (There are two large trees down now, which would prevent easy horse passage). There are elk tracks all along the ridge although they were keeping scarce last Sunday with all the hunters’ blasts echoing from the valleys below.

I passed this Douglas-fir that had been completely gutted some time in the past, perhaps by a lightning strike, and was just standing on a shell of bark and cambium. It had a full head of foliage, however!

The Kalama River is named after John Kalama, one of several hundred native Hawaiians (“Owyhees”) who came to the Pacific Northwest from the 1820s to 1840s to work under John McLoughlin for the Hudson’s Bay Company. John worked at Fort Nisqually and, like many of his countrymen, married into the local tribe. He eventually settled with his family at the mouth of the Kalama, which was named for him after he drowned there. Not many people are aware that a large number of Northwest Native Americans have strong Polynesian bloodlines!

[Splintercat]

Terrific report, Bobcat! Love that tubular Douglas fir, too -- very cool, indeed! I always appreciate grand old trees that defy the eugenics mindset of more than a few arborists and silviculturalists... give me a forest full of "decadent" trees over perfect adolescent specimens, any day!

Thanks for posting - nice to live vicariously, as I'm still tied down to my home improvement saga...

Tom

[Waffle Stomper]

Terrific report, Bobcat! Love that tubular Douglas fir, too -- very cool, indeed! I always appreciate grand old trees that defy the eugenics mindset of more than a few arborists and silviculturalists... give me a forest full of "decadent" trees over perfect adolescent specimens, any day!

Thanks for posting - nice to live vicariously, as I'm still tied down to my home improvement saga...

Tom

I can't top Splinter's comments. Thanks for the trip report.