Backpacking Trip Near Mt. Saint Helens

After our wonderful week in Seattle Hyrum still had a full week of vacation left so we decided to take the family on a backpacking trip.  This was the first time in about 20 years I had been on a backpacking trip.  I had been camping a few times but always with our car and tent trailer.  Hyrum has taken the boys on overnight backpacking trips but only hiked a few miles to get to the campsite.  This was going to be a real backpacking adventure.  3 days, 20 miles, 3700 feet elevation gain, 2 nights, no toilets!  To say I was a bit nervous would be an understatement.  I am really out of shape and didn't know if I would be able to complete this task set before me.  But, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and I made it.  It helped that my pack was only 15 pounds.  The twins both carried 20 pounds and Hyrum carried 45 pounds!  We told Julian that if he promised not to complain about the hike we wouldn't make him carry a pack.  He was very good the whole hike and didn't complain even once!  Which is amazing because he usually will complain about a 2 mile walk through the forest!  We stayed in pretty much the same formation for the 3 days of hiking.  Townsend was in the lead, then Julian, Hyrum, Emerson and Me.  Emerson was so sweet to stay with me the whole time.  I was pretty darn slow, especially on the steep up hill parts of the hike.  I would set my sights on a tree about 20 feet from me and try to make it to that spot before I stopped to catch my breathe...it was STEEP in some places!  I kept up with everyone on the downhill or going along on the flat parts of the hike but I really slowed down as soon as there was an incline.  BUT, I did make it and I hiked every mile...so I'm proud of that.

We started out by hiking the Goat Mountain trail and then looped back to the car on the Green River trail.  I have to admit, we did see some pretty amazing things and it was lovely to get away from the news and the hustle of everyday life.

All ready to get going on the first day of the hike.  Did I mention we didn't bring extra clothes (just socks and underwear) so we smelled pretty ripe by the time we got back to the car!

The first 2 1/2 miles were pretty steep.  This was the toughest part of the hike so I was glad it was at the beginning.

Me taking a "catch my breathe" break...Emerson is right with me

This is a good shot to show how steep it was.  Hyrum was on a lower switchback and Julian was ahead of him...heading up, up, up

The view from the top was a great reward.  That is Mt. Saint Helens in the background

Mt. Hood peeking up in the far distance.  From the top of the ridge you could see Mt. Hood, Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams.  We really were fortunate to have such a clear and cloudless day that let us see so well.

The views were amazing, we were on a flat part of the trail and the wild flowers were everywhere...what a wonderful part of the hike!

My crazy boys:)

Our first night we camped by this beautiful lake (Deadman's Lake).  The water was perfect for swimming.  There was a ledge that went out from the shore about 50 feet that kept the water pretty shallow so it was nice and warm.  It felt SO good to get out of my sweaty clothes and rinse off.

Cute little lake newt

Our early morning campfire and breakfast...time to pack up and hit the trail again!

The second day of hiking started off pretty steep but didn't last long.  Then the rest of the day was mostly flat or down hill...which was good because it was our longest hiking day!

We had to scramble across lots of little streams on the trail...I was glad I didn't slip even one time:)

A great spot to stop and have some lunch.  What a view!

We hiked through the "devastation zone" which totally knocked down all the trees during the volcanic eruption 40 years ago.  It was amazing to see how much the forest has been able to regrow over the 40 years.

Campsite for our second night of the trip.  It was great because there was a river right next to the site which of course we all went swimming in to clean off the sweat and grime from the hike...even though it was freezing!

The lovely river right next to our site.  It was so nice to have a water source at each of our campsites so we didn't have to haul water while we hiked.

All packed up and ready to head out on day 3 of our trip...much smellier than day one by far:)

It was just 5 miles to the car on that last day but I was sure beat!  And then...the last 1/2 mile of the hike was super steep again.  I thought that was very unfair of the hiking Gods to throw that at me right at the end!

Back in the car and heading home, we had to take one last look at beautiful Mt. Saint Helens.

I wouldn't put backpacking up there with my top 5 favorite things...in fact I'm not sure it would be in my top 50.  But, Hyrum LOVES hiking.  He really wanted to take the boys on a true backpacking adventure and you know what?  We all survived.  Those kids of mine might even have one or two fond memories to look back on (even though they say they didn't have fun).  I know I will remember just how beautiful it all was and how glad I was to be with just my little family for a few days with no distractions.  I'm glad I could show my boys part of this beautiful world God has made for them.