On Saturday, Ebishop, Bosterson, and I went out near Mt St Helens and hiked around the Coldwater area.
We parked at the Hummocks TH near Coldwater Lake and powered up with...
- an auspicious start to any hike...
baklava!
Then it was off on the road for a short walk past the gate that is closing off the last bit of Spirit Lake Highway up to JRO until we reached the south Coldwater TH.
The cloud cover was thicker than anticipated, but the colors were still bold.
- how low can you snow?
This is Minnie early in the day. Observe the snow line for comparison with a picture below from later in the day.
We eventually crossed into the snow...
... and some amazing scenery.
Coldwater Peak was poking out every now and then between the cloud breaks.
Time passed, and we stopped to eat lunch and celebrate in style.
On our way back, Mt St Helens did finally make a short appearance.
That nice shiny spot on top of the hill is the JRO parking lot, which was snow free... behind that gate... hmm...
Ok, now here is Minnie in the afternoon. Compare with picture 04 above. It's always interesting to see the changes throughout the day.
