Surrounded by Volcanoes - Mt. St. Helens Natl. Volcanic Monument, 7.7.19 - 7.9.19: Part 3 of 4
As we continue our journey… Arriving at Pleasant Pass it was still only around noon so we set our sights on climbing a point above the pass to see what we could see. I love off trail scrambling. This was pretty easy pickings as there were multiple game trails to follow up through the timber and heather. It wasn’t really that far, perhaps another half a mile and maybe another 400’ of elevation but it was fun and we still had lots of energy.
The point (on left) we climbed above Pleasant Pass
Once on the top of the point we could see down the other side of Pleasant Pass to another lake called Snow Lake.
Snow Lake surrounded by blast zone fallen timber
At the top of the point a ridge ran out towards Minnie Peak. That looked like a bit of a challenge but I went out to the nearer rocky outcropping which was an easy scramble.
On ridge to Minnie Peak
Looking back towards Shovel Lake from the hillside above Pleasant Pass
Group selfie at Shovel Lake. Good times!
Indian Paintbrush
Chillin” at camp
That night after dinner we stayed up to watch the stars come out. I had brought my tripod so I snapped some photos during what is known as “the blue hour”.
Ursa Major above the treeline
I tried something new by turning on my headlamp during the long 25 second exposures. I aimed it at the big tree by our camp and it really lit it up without losing the stars so I’ll have to experiment with that a bit more.
Ghost lit trees and stars
I finally went to bed after eleven to get ready for the hike back out to the car the next day. Stay tuned for Part 4 and the end of the story.