Much Needed Waterfall and Old Growth Refreshment

After a few week hiking hiatus, we headed out to the Henline Falls Trailhead in the Opal Creek Wilderness in October 2014.  We hike rain or shine and sometimes the rainy hikes are the most memorable.

Analise was doing a lot of walking and this is a great trail for her, not super long and lots of wonderful forest ending with a beautiful waterfall.

The mist seemed magical and the forest enchanted.

We found lots of mud puddles as we hiked up the wide trail.

Analise was determined as ever and happy to be wearing her puddle stomping boots.

I saw a tiny bit of blue sky and loved the way the light was shining through on this cool fall day.

The moss is lovely in this old growth gem of a forest.

I drew the line at swimming but Analise got as close to the water as possible.

We took many breaks for climbing rocks.

I continued to enjoy the refreshing, mossy forest.

We continued through the rain to the powerful henline falls.

We spent some time gazing up at it and enjoying the spray less than we would on a hot day but still quite a bit.

There is a cave near the waterfall that we checked out the mouth of.

We took a silly selfie.

Back to the lush green forest toward the trailhead.

We found a cliff with some drips to shower us along the way.

It was a lovely, refreshing fall day in the woods- a place we will most definitely return to.

Windy Ridge with Friends- July 2013

 We met our friends from Tacoma halfway at a campground off of Hwy 12.  This time we had a reservation which was helpful! Analise was almost one year old.









We enjoyed a walk along the river.









We drove to Windy Ridge on the East side of Mt. St. Helens.








We took a hike up to a viewpoint. It was a beautiful day.











We enjoyed a few wildflowers along the way.









The lake was so big and clear.










The clouds and sky were lovely.











The trees were ripped off of these hills by the eruption and went into the lake below.









The treeless meadow areas left room for wildflowers.









The log jam was quite impressive up close.









Analise had rocks to play with.









The Anderson boys enjoyed some cold water between their toes.









We were careful to leave no trace as we enjoyed the water.









It was so much fun to see a new side of Mt. Hood!

Mt. St. Helens Exploration- September 2014

 It was National Park Fee Free Day!  We took our friend Celebrity to see Mt. St. Helens for the first time and hike along the Johnson Ridge trail.  Analise had just turned two years old.

Gil came along this time to enjoy this natural wonder.

There were a few clouds but overlooking the mountain was beautiful.

Overlooking the area where mud and lava flowed.

Taking a bench break to take in the view.

Gil took a turn with the heavy pack.

We enjoyed the first course of lunch.

Amy was sure to point out all the posts to let us know we were on the right track.

We enjoyed the view into the crater.

There is a little bit of permanent snow and an ever changing lava dome.

We spent some time enjoying the view.

Spirit Lake loomed large below us.

The log jam was cool!

Analise got to wiggle just a little but was mostly confined to the backpack.

The crater and lava dome is so fascinating.

The clouds swirled around us and the mountain.

It was easy to imagine the canyon full of lava, mud, and ash.

Analise recruited Celebrity to help with her rock collection.

We watched the eruption movie and continue to be amazed by the power and destruction of volcanoes.