Carly Kovacik and I did a large loop through Lava Canyon near Mount Saint Helens on September 9th. Initially the hike seemed to be a dud. I had read about a ledge system that had to be traversed followed by a ladder that had to be used to move through a lava cliff. However, we didn't see any sign of those features as we explored the first mile of trail. We then back-tracked to a viewpoint above a waterfall, and that's when I noticed a second section of trail that spurs away from the main part of the park and leads to the lower falls of Lava Canyon. Carly and I took off down this trail and it became sketchy quickly. The dirt path was very narrow, perhaps around a foot wide at points, and it was composed of loose dust and gravel that slopped downward toward a terrifying abyss. I looked off towards the abyss once and felt primal fear being one step away from death. Still, I forced myself forward, focusing intently on each step.
The trail continued descending down toward the bottom lower portion of the lava canyon, and the sketchy sections became less frequent. Nevertheless, one more obstacle lay ahead...a 30 foot drop down the face of a lava cliff via a sturdy ladder. Carly climbed down first, and I followed, again feeling un-nerved as I extended my body out into the void. After the ladder section, we walked across a bridge to the other side of the river that led to a trail that followed along cliffs. We hoped that trail would lead back to the main part of the park, but no luck. We back-tracked and I used my GPS watch to locate a long loop that affirmatively led back to the parking lot. We took that trail, which was probably 4-6 miles long and ascended a 1500 foot hill back to the trailhead.
Google map location is here.
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