Hiking to Coldwater Peak - Mount Margaret Backcountry, Washington

Katie and I left our home in Portland, Oregon around 6 AM and drove North to Johnston Ridge Observatory in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (North side of Mount St. Helens). Our plan was to hike the Boundary trail #1 to the Coldwater Peak trail #1E to the summit of Coldwater Peak (5,727'). This 5.9 mile (each-way) hike offers excellent views of Mount St. Helens, the pumice plain, and the surrounding blast zone from its eruption on May 18, 1980. Over 30 years later, the landscape is still very barren compared to before the eruption. Instead of trees, the area is currently dominated by wildflowers and low-growing shrubs. The Boundary trail (starts at Johnston Ridge Observatory) travels through Mount Margaret Backcountry where permits are required for overnight camping. There is an $8/person fee to visit the Johnston Ridge Observatory (an annual NW Forest Pass covers one person).

Download route (one-way) as shown in map above in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format for use with GPS units and mapping programs. Disclaimer.

When we arrived at Johnston Ridge, we were greeted by a nearly-empty parking lot. One group of hikers set out before us, but we did not see them along the Boundary Trail. It was sunny and clear and approximately 75°F when we started. The trail is well-marked and there were a few benches along the first part of the trail. We were soon afforded an excellent view of Mount St. Helens and its crater. As we hiked along the rolling terrain, we were often able to make out the trail in the distance, as there are very few trees.

   

   

Though we did not see any other hikers, there were a few chipmunks and plenty of ravens enjoying the landscape. Before long, we began to see numerous wildflowers as our friends and other trip reports had promised.

   

   

About halfway through our 5.9 mile trip to the Peak, we encountered a rusty bridge that crossed a dry creek bed. The creek must run high during the spring months. We also noticed a good number of elk prints in the ashy soil.

   

   

Continuing on, we encountered wild strawberries, huckleberries (just starting to ripen), and a large number of caterpillars in a nest. As we crested a saddle area, Spirit Lake and St. Helens Lake came into full view. It was amazing to see their surfaces still littered with logs from the original eruption in 1980.

   

   

   

As we descended the saddle, the trail passed directly through a natural arch. It provided good shade in an otherwise completely exposed hike. We also encountered a few patches of snow still covering the trail. It seems that remnants of winter will hang on into September this year. Just before reaching the Coldwater Peak trail cutoff, we were wowed with excellent views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier, both still snow-covered.

   

   

   

After turning onto the Coldwater Peak trail, the trail became quite narrow and began a switch-backed path to the top. It appeared as though far fewer hikers ascended to Coldwater Peak than continued on the Boundary trail toward Mount Margaret. As we ascended, we noted that it smelled like a barn and saw many puddles of elk urine and piles of droppings. It took us just over three hours to reach the summit of Coldwater Peak. Our time would have been much faster had we not stopped so frequently to admire and snap pictures of the abundant wildflowers along the trail.

   

   

The summit of Coldwater Peak has ample room to stop and enjoy the scenery, but provides no shade from the scorching sun. There were also swarms of biting flies and many bees at the top. Because Coldwater Peak sits across from Mount St Helens, geological monitoring equipment has been set up atop the Peak. A permanent EarthScope GPS station was installed in September, 2006.

   

   

   

After enjoying lunch and taking a few pictures, we began our return trip. Near the top of the peak, we encountered our first group of hikers, who also commented that they had not seen anyone else since the parking lot. As we neared the halfway point in our inbound trip, we began to see more people, most of whom were looking for good views of the mountain and lakes. Very few were bound for Coldwater Peak. Our return trip took approximately 2.5 hours. Though not overly challenging, this hike is long and dusty and should not be attempted without ample water and sun protection.