Day 10, Mount St. Helens and Cannon Beach

After 9 days of vacation the dreaded hike up the mountain of death, aka Mt. Saint Helens, was finally upon us. We awoke extra early, around 6 in the morning in order to get a head start on the day. After completing the hiker registration in the log book, we made the twenty-minute drive to the base of the mountain. The hike was about 10.2 miles, starting off for a couple miles through the woods and then having us scrambling over boulders and trudging (and slipping) through the snow. The hike was the longest and hardest thing we’d ever done so far on our vacations. Following the wooden trail markers to guide hikers, we could only walk a little ways up the steep side of the mountain before having to take a break. Plus, we didn’t have any of the recommended equipment the informational sheet at the motel had suggested (the only supplies off the list we did have were food, water, and extra clothes). (Dad note: The only thing we were really missing were hiking poles.) Having made it close to the top in tennis shoes and not wanting to risk climbing through snow and ash the rest of the way, I decided to call it quits and a solar powered weather station that was located about a mile from the summit. Here the whole family snacked on the food we’d bought the day before, which consisted mainly of sunflower seeds, apples, granola bars, and cookies. We were also lucky enough to find a gallon of water someone had left behind on top of the mountain. Since we were running low on water, we took the huge container and filled our bottles up without a second thought. After we were done eating, Jessie and Dad continued up the mountain for another hour and a half. In the meantime, I remained at the station, talking to other hikers who passed by and ate lunch. I made a new buddy, Todd, as his small group hiked up the mountain. Since there was still leftover water in the jug we’d found, I’d been offering it to everyone who passed by to make sure no one went onwards dehydrated.
After talking to Todd’s group for a while, and offering them some water and my leftovers from lunch, Todd made the humorous comment, “You’re just like a Mt. St Helens greeter, aren’t you? It’s like working at the GAP, only better!” They were a really funny group, but before too long they were continuing up the mountain. As they climbed the distant snow bank though, I heard Todd call out to his buddies “I should have brought my guitar up here and played Jumper!”
While I continued to wait for the return of Jessie and Dad, I opened up a bag of sunflower seeds. Almost instantly, a couple of chipmunks made their way over to get in on the meal. I threw them some seeds, which they feasted on a foot away from me with their tiny, adorable paws. After awhile though, I left my little friend to explore the rock area. There were a couple hikers sliding down the slope and using their poles as braces. While they seemed to know what they were doing, a ranger had told us that yesterday a man broke his leg trying to pull off the same stunt. I decided it would be a good idea to keep an eye on these hikers in case something went wrong, but eventually they made it safely out of my site. When I returned to the rock I’d previously been sitting on, I heard a little scrapping noise. Upon closer inspection I saw my chipmunk friend trying to dig his way through our backpack to reach those sunflower seeds again. When I stepped towards him though, he looked up at me and then scattered off into the rock piles. Jessie and Dad made it back down to me about an hour and a half after they left. Since no one I offered the water to really needed it, there was still some left over so I filled all our water bottles again.

The hike down was easier than the way up, but it was still a challenge. You had to be careful not to create a rockslide or lose your footing on both the boulders and the snow. It probably took us about 2.5 hours to reach our car, and when we finally had the Dusty Bullet in view, it was a time of rejoicing. With every part of our bodies aching, we took great pleasure in driving out of the park and back to our motel to check out and get a bite to eat. At the motel’s restaurant we ordered ice cream, chicken tenders and fries, and let me tell you, food never tasted so good in our lives.

Our next stop was Cannon Beach, which was a gorgeous, yet cloudy shoreline with massive rock islands (stacks) that towered above the crashing waves below. In school last year Jessie had won money in an art competition for painting a picture of this very beach, so while it was neat to visit, the main reason we stopped here was to pay tribute to Jessie’s masterpiece. Dad and I walked along the beach, sitting on logs and taking lots of pictures while Jessie built a sand castle-moat-thingy. The air was chilly and the water was even colder, but Jessie still had a blast frolicking in the sand. After spending half an hour on the beach, we made our way to a local seafood restaurant. Though I ordered chicken pasta, the seafood Jessie and Dad got was absolutely delicious. The only regretful part of the meal occurred when Dad forgot his jacket at the restaurant, and only noticed it was missing about 10 miles into our 25-mile drive to the hotel. Luckily the restaurant stayed open long enough for us to drive back and pick it up. Then, having done everything on the day’s schedule and with all our possessions safely in the car, we headed off to our hotel for the last time to enjoy some hot showers and a good night’s sleep.