I joined my friends and former rafting co-workers Chris and Chad (and his girlfriend Shannon) for a great weekend up at Mount St. Helens. We didn't make it to the north side, which was wiped out when she blew in 1980. The south side is still great and pretty much untouched. Chad, Chris and I having some fun at the Middle Falls on the Lewis River!
Rainier, above. Adams, below. From a knob on our day hike Sunday we could see Rainier to the north, Adams to the east, Hood to the south, and Helens to the west. It was a great vantage point.
Shannon and Chad having some fun around the campfire!
We camped about 50 yards from the above falls, The Lower Falls on the Lewis River. Chris near the Middle Falls, below.
Upper Falls, above. Middle Falls, below.
The colors were pretty perfect for our trip. And the weather was unexpectedly and unbelievably nice for this time of year in the northwest. Chris and I didn't even set up a tent, just plopped it on the ground.
Some tasty eggs for breakfast, above. By the way, car camping is soooo great because you can take just about anything you want. It's actually quite similar to rafting in that sense. I hadn't used a dutch oven, above, since I used to raft. It's a great vessel for cooking!
Shannon jokingly attempted climbing one of the largest Douglas Firs that any of us had ever seen. It was easily well over 200 feet tall. You just don't see trees like that in the Midwest!
