I headed up to the southern slopes of Mt. St. Helens after checking my Trails Never Hiked list . The goal was to hike to Kalama Falls from the Kalama Horse Camp, but that didn’t quite work out, so I ended up doing a couple of loops, one about 12 1/2 miles, one small, instead.
Kalama Falls
I began on the Toutle Trail from Kalama Horse Camp and took the Cinnamon Trail across the Kalama River to the junction with the Kalama Falls Trail. Last fall, there had been a makeshift sign here pointing the direction to Kalama Falls, about four miles away. The sign has been removed in the past few months, a portent of things to come. . . .
A trail leads down across old St. Helens ashfall in lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, western hemlock woods and meets Road 81 after about 1 ½ miles. Immediately, across 81, the trail continues into lodgepoles, but behind this sign:
So it’s official: no hiking to Kalama Falls. Driving back, I noticed the same signs on the gated road that some people walk for a much shorter trip to the Falls.
Kalama Ski Trail- Goat Marsh Lake – Kalama River Loop
Huffing it back to towards the Horse Camp, I had to rethink my plans, and decided to take the Kalama Ski Trail, also used as a horse/hiker trail in the summer. This leads up a gradual slope on a rubbly, rooty tread across deep St. Helens pyroclastic deposits and lahars. A moss/reindeer lichen/kinnikinnick carpet has established itself. After crossing FR 81, the trail ascends a rubbly track to a bullet-riddled 44-gallon drum, whence you peel off to the Goat Marsh Lake Research Natural Area. After you pass through a split rail fence (no stock allowed), you hike up to the lake shore past some big Douglas-firs. Goat Marsh Lake sits in the shadow of Goat Mountain, a recent dacite extrusion. It is, in fact, a rather extensive wetland with two open stretches of water. The trail leads from one to the other. Some truly large noble firs also grow in the shadow of Goat Mountain. The wetland itself is expanding due to beaver activity.
From the lake, I hiked back and took the Ski Trail up to its confluence with the Blue Horse Trail. St. Helens’ melting slopes were vaguely visible under low clouds through the trees, but this was not a hike with any kind of view. I had run out of time, so a side trip to Blue Lake was nixed. The Blue Horse Trail takes you down the slope to the Kalama River, passing some impressive Douglas-firs at the bottom of a slope.
Once at the river, I hiked west to the Horse Camp along the Toutle Trail with the Kalama in view most of the time. The river runs along the base of Cinnamon Ridge and, in places, has cut through at least 100 feet of soft volcanic deposits. Slides have required rerouting of the Toutle Trail in a few spots. The river, which rises from a copious spring west of Red Rock Pass, flows pristinely here and is constantly pulling down 50 – 80 year-old trees as it gnaws at its banks. There are many larger trees on the bluffs, and the spring blooms, most notably candy flower, woods violets, and trillium, are just beginning to appear.
Merrill Lake
Washington DNR owns a square of land on Merrill Lake off the Kalama River Road; a campground and boat launch are provided. On the way back, I stopped here, posted my Discovery Pass, and checked out the new one-mile nature loop, billed as an interpretive trail but without interpretive signs as yet. No matter – the massive Douglas-firs speak for themselves, a rewarding surprise in a hillscape of rejuvenating clearcuts.
Merrill Lake is a natural lake and the largest such on St. Helens’ southern slopes. It was created when a lava flow dammed a creek.
Thanks for another great TR, BC 
