Yesterday I visited Johnston Ridge.  How, you ask?  The road to the top is washed out and will be closed for YEARS.  True, but you can still hike there on the Boundary Trail.  Start at the Hummocks Trail near the information board.  This loop trail intersects with the west end of the 65 mile long Boundary Trail, which takes off toward Johnston RIdge.  Look for the wooden trail sign near an interpretive panel overlooking a meadow near some ponds.  Take this trail.  It is a 4 mile hike UP the ridge.  I climb this several thousand feet each spring to get in shape for the summer season.  The snow is nearly gone now, and the main difficulty is some outsloped tread that passes above cliffs and loose rocks.  Use hiking poles and have good boots.  This is not a beginner trail!  After the first big climb you will be on an open ridge that was a clearcut before the eruption.  You can tell because of all the rotting stumps sticking out above the ash.  This is where the bluebirds live.  Look for their sky blue plumage and listen for their charming songs.  I saw nearly 30 bluebirds in the area and I took some photos.  For an extra treat, on the steep adjacent hillside a family of seven mountain goats were browsing and romping.  Beautiful.  The sky was the same color as the bluebirds, and the goats matched the snow on Mount St. Helens and the Mt. Margaret Backcountry.  I turned around at the Loowit Viewpoint.  Round trip took about four hours, nearly 8 miles, and 2000 foot elevation gain.  Watch out for those steep, angled sections of trail.  

Outside it is wet, drippy, and chilly.  What a great time of year to sit and have a tasty snack and a warm latte while browsing the shops of Kalama or Castle Rock.  Our region's two small cities are both worth a day of exploration.  Recently, I spent the afternoon at the Port of Kalama, where business and recreation co-exist and thrive.  The new Mountain TImber Market is just getting started, with goodies like wine, chocolate, coffee, plants and art all for sale in cozy booths lining the edges of this new, sweeping building.  Mountain Timber Market  The historic and restored Lelooska totem pole is displayed a full story up through the heart of the building.   Be sure to go upstairs and watch the video on the restoration.  Food carts outside sent barbeque deliciousness wafting on the breeze coming off the Columbia River, which is just a few yards away.  Beachcombing, ship and bird watching, walking trails, and an extensive playground round out the options.  A person spending the night at the adjacent McMenamin's Kalama Harbor Lodge can use the pedestrian overpass to cross the tracks and duck under I-5 to browse the many unique antique shops in downtown.   Dining options also expand (the Chinese restaurant is great!).  Nearby to downtown, head to Kress Lake for hiking, fishing, and wildlife viewing.  Haydu Park on the Kalama River offers full amenities.  The port area is a bit tricky to find off Interstate 5, but your phone or the trail map link below, will lead you there.    Cowlitz County Trail Map - Cowlitz EDC

These are Toutle Trekker's top 5 Spirit Lake Highway Hikes.

Best with Children:  Seaquest Park.  The mile or so wetland stroll along the Silver Lake Boardwalk is a great way to share nature with little ones.  The surface is stroller compatible and offers great birdwatching, bugwatching, and listening to nature (including bullfrogs).  For a longer walk, the tunnel under the road to Seaquest Park trails and playground is fun, too.   Park the the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center or at Seaquest Park.  

Best Day Hike: Hummocks Trail.  A two mile loop through the land that was once the summit of Mount St. Helens, complete with many ponds filled with life and peek-a-boo views of the volcano.  The Hummocks Trailhead is currently as far as you can drive.

Best Long Hike: Coldwater Loop.  With the road still closed to the South Coldwater Trail, so start at the hummocks parking lot, walk the road to the South Coldwater Trailhead then climb to the blasted logging equipment.  Keep going looping up to the Coldwater Trail, then drop to down toward the lake.  Connect with the Lakes trail and fish your way back to the Coldwater Lake parking area.  A short road walk completes this day-long loop (about 13 miles)

Best 'Secret' Hike: Green River junction.  Heading east, just past Sediment Dam Road, cross the North Toutle River then look for a wide spot on the left with a green gate on a closed road.  Park here and follow angler trails to the junction of the Green and North Toutle.  A bit of bushwhacking may be required.  Bring your license and fishing rod and regulations!  Another secret hike takes you across the sediment dam.  Follow Sediment Dam road to the large trailhead. This is a great place to view elk and waterfowl in the winter.

Best 'In Town' Hike:  Top the Rock in Castle Rock.  Start at the trailhead at the entrance to town.  Follow the path along the Cowlitz River, past the bike skills park, and end at the then take the gravel trail to "Top the Rock".  Turn around or end at Lions Pride Park.

Yesterday evening my family drove up the Spirit Lake Highway to check out the snow level and go for a hike up the ridge.  The snow is deeper than it was a month ago, but we did hike up the the logging equipment on the South Coldwater Trail.  What a treat!  We were the only people up on the ridge at this time, and the animals were out everywhere.  We saw, on the drive and hike, nearly 200 elk.  The elk must be migrating up from the valley to the ridges toward the snowline.  Of all the elk we saw moving, only one bull was limping, a sign of "hoof rot disease" that is plaguing our herds.  The sooty grouse (aka blue grouse) were whooting and whopping all around.  Often they are heard but not seen.  I did track down and watch two roosters strutting their stuff.  The violet-green swallows and yellow-rumped warblers were back for the summer.  A pack of coyotes yipped down by the lake, and a pair of black-tailed deer watched us trek by.  Of all this wild activity, the highlight of the hike was the beautiful, shiny black bear that we watched as it wandered down an old road.  The bear would stand up on its hind legs and scratch its back on alder trees.  It had been hunting ants and winter killed carcasses, no doubt, and we found where it tore into an ant hill by the trail.  

Wildlife Viewing Pointers: Hike in the morning or evening on a non-weekend day, stay quiet and keep alert, listen for wildife which are often heard before they are seen, and don't forget binoculars (like we did).  All these critters are spooky, so don't get too close, just watch quietly.

Imagine the ideal State park.  Of course there would be camping and the typical marshmallow-coated fun, but my “dream” park would have things to do year round.  In summer I could camp, bicycle, or hike the park’s trails, and in the winter I could snowshoe, sled, or cross-country ski there.  The best parks also have water.  I would connect my “dream” park with a beautiful lake.  Don’t forget the fish, because I love fishing…and make them big.  Add features like a boat launch, trails, restrooms, and picnic area at the lake.  It’s nice when camping to have park paths connect with larger trail systems.  Wake up in the morning and leave the tent or RV and hike or bicycle past the lake and deep in the backcountry.  The park should be fairly large, at several hundred acres, and easy to get to.  Make it on a paved road, and not too far to drive, perhaps near a national treasure that is already attracting visitors.  Put it near a science center and a visitor center for extra pizazz.  It helps if the land is already public, and wrap it all in a spectacular view.  That is my ideal park ...and here it is:

320 acres of isolated and unused state Department of Natural Resources land sits surrounded by the Mount St Helens National Monument.  In fact, all of the maps on Monument billboards have the land marked as part of the Monument.  It isn’t.  State law allows DNR land to be transferred or leased for park and recreation purposes. 

The land is hilly, but not steep, and could support a camping park, snow park, day-use area, or a combination of all of these.  Old logging roads lead to both Coldwater Lake and the Castle Lake viewpoint and toward Elk Rock.  These old roads could easily be converted to trails, linking with the Pacific Crest Trail and the Boundary National Scenic Trail.  Coldwater Lake has full facilities and would be a short two-mile walk, snowshoe, bicycle, ski or jog away.   But for now its just a dream...