Mt Margaret, Sep 25th

Mt Margaret has been in my radar for some time but I never thought about going there on a day hike. On one side, this area has a lot to explore making it better for a backpacking trip. The problem is usually getting permits as this fragile area is highly restricted. The other thing is that it could be a long day for just a hike. Mt Margaret is located on the north eastern side of Mt St Helens which is basically the blast zone of the volcano. The scenery is a bit eerie as all this area has been slowly recovering from the 1980 devastating eruption. You certainly find some vegetation and beautiful colors that are all contrasted by the thousands of downed trees. As you’ll see in the pictures, it almost seems that a gigantic comb passed thru the area leveling everything. So with nothing else to do on sunny day in September, I decided last minute to get my gear and head out there to check at least a section of Mt Margaret. I started hiking from the Norway Pass Trailhead, a pretty isolated area that gives you a quick hint at the scenery you’ll see the rest of the day. The first portion climbs on the boundary trail towards Independence Pass where several trails meet and you get the best view of the volcano. As you get there, the views open up in front of you with Spirit Lake at the foothills of Mt St Helens. I can safely say that this view is reason enough to hike this trail. You get views of new growth on the hills, the lake with its shore completely covered with dead trees from the blast and the immensity of the crater above.

View from Independence Pass


From the pass, the trail continues gaining elevation as it circles around the eastern side of the lake. As you do that, the other volcanic peaks start to show up behind the ridges. On the other side of the ridge, what is known as Mt Margaret Backcountry also starts to appear. This is a deep basin with several lakes and incredible scenery. From different points along the ridge, you can get some views of Shovel Lake down below and the rocky ridges that circle the area. The only common scenery is the pattern that all the downed trees create. It was incredible to see areas that were devastated and how they have recovered to beautiful postcard scenery. Along the ridge, I got a nice view of a small valley along a creek that flows to Spirit Lake that’s a perfect example of this

Postcard scenery


Shortly after that view, I got to the fork with the Whittier Ridge Trail. From pictures and reports I’ve seen, this is the hardest part of the Mt Margaret Backcountry loop. The trail follows the rocky ridge which has been blown or eroded. I decided to take a quick jaunt to check it out. I guess I didn’t do the whole thing or didn’t reach the hard section although I can say that the trail is not for the faint of heart. It does follow a very narrow line on the side of the ridge with a very steep drop off to one side. After a while and seeing that time was running by, I turned around and got back to the Boundary Trail. From there I continued for a while until I found the side trail to the top of Mt Margaret. I got there just at the time I had set up to start hiking back but with that scenery, I had to sit and enjoy it for a while. The views from up there included Spirit Lake, a clear view of the Crater, St Helens Lake and the volcanic peaks. Then it was the hike back. Being a bit late, I had to hike a bit faster to get back to the car before dark. Oh what a day!