When I was growing up, in the 1970's, January and February were "smelt watch" months.  The signs that the slippery, oily little fish had entered the Cowlitz River were (and are) pretty obvious: guls swooping low over the water and seals venturing up the rivers following the run.  My father would take us out to dip or "dig" smelt, and, with a special long-handled net with small mesh, we would fill 5 gallon buckets with the silver fish.  I think the limit was 25 pounds a day. The banks between Kelso and Castle Rock would be lined with dippers, and choice spots might produce a bucket of fish with one or two digs into the water.  The first batch of fried smelt was pretty good, like a traditional holiday food that is savored once a year.  The second batch, ok, but after a few weeks of off-and-on piles of fried smelt we were ready to get back to venison steak!  My father would also smoke the little fish whole, and I even took them smoked to school for lunch.  

But recently that has all changed.  Smelt are now listed as a "threatened" species.  Some blame the eruption of Mount St. Helens for the decline of runs, others claim overharvest or changing ocean conditions.  Still, some years there are enough fish returning from the ocean to spawn to open a day or two to public smelt dipping.   A few years back, when the season was open for a day, I made a point of taking my children out to dip smelt.  We only got enough for one "mess" but it was more cultural experience that a fishing trip.  Everyone who lives here needs to try smelt dipping at least once.  And lucky for us, today is one of those rare days with dipping allowed.  According to the WDFW the season will last between 8 am and 1 pm with 10 pounds of smelt allowed per person.  The river is open between the Hwy 423 Bridge and the Al Helenburg boat launch in Castle Rock today only.   I drove by the dippers this morning along the Cowlitz.  All the signs were there--seaguls squawking, seals and sealions far upriver, traffic jams along the shore...and lots and lots of buckets of memories.  

For additional openings and more information check out the WDFW website 
https://wdfw.wa.gov/news/wdfw-announces-additional-one-day-smelt-opening-cowlitz-river  

Fall is a great time to visit Cowlitz County's newest "old" park.  Harry Gardner Park has a great story of what a small community's "can-do" spirit can accomplish.  This park at the junction of the North and South Toutle Rivers was completely destroyed by the mudflows from Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980.  For years, the park was abandoned--all structures rotting half buried in the mudflow, while a new forest of invasive Scotch broom took over the land.  Partiers with bonfires and glass bottles left messes and attracted nuisance elements. 

When the Forest Service granted the Toutle Valley some economic development funds for a community action plan, one goal stood out loud and clear--We want our parks back!  After the plan was created, the citizens didn't wait or the government to act.  A group of volunteers spontaneously formed, and over time cleaned up the park.  Pulling the county along, the park was put back into official status, and with sweat equity, county funding,  and another grant, the park has been rebuilt and is open to campers, anglers, hikers, and families looking for playgrounds, sand and water.  The park area expanded significantly with a donation/sale from a local family who owned nearby land also impacted by the mudflow.  The state Department of Wildlife owns adjacent land here, too, creating the largest chunk of public land (124 acres) set aside for recreation and habitat this side of the sediment dam.  Anglers can try their luck on three rivers: the South Toutle, mainstem Toutle and the North Toutle, all from one access.  Be aware that each stretch of river has different rules.  I keep the regulations handy.

The mudflows at Harry Gardner Park area great places to view wildlife and to study wildlife tracks.  Beaver "trails" where these busy rodents have dragged brances toward the rivers crisscross the area.  You will also see the value of manmade fish recovery structures, where people have placed artificial logjams and have planted seedlings in an effort to stabilize a wandering river.  The work completed in the last few years seems to be holding, and new riparian vegetation is taking hold.

Directions: From Toutle, take South Toutle Road, across from Drew's Grocery, and  follow for 1 1/2 miles, across South Toutle Bridge, to the park enterance at Fiest Road.

Facilities: Tent and RV camping with partial hookups; restrooms; covered picnic area; playgrounds and swings; fishing access; wildlife viewing; bird watching; swimming;

Reservations available at Cowlitz County website.  www.co.cowlitz.wa.us/1277/Harry-Gardner-Park

Adjacent Gardner Wildlife Area Information:

https://wdfw.wa.gov/places-to-go/wildlife-areas/gardner-wildlife-area-unit

A little gem of hidden land with two rivers, old growth trees, a huge snag, and an amazing history lies just off the Spirit Lake Highway across from the Fish Collection Facility.  If you take an afternoon to explore, you can stand on the banks and watch the emerald waters of the Green River combine with the (usually) murky North Toutle. 

In summer both rivers are clear, cool and inviting, and in the fall salmon migrate past to the hatchery.   The "trail" here is a series of old roads, with the potential for some off-trail bushwacking.  Travel east on 504, past Kid Valley and the buried A-frame.  Follow the highway below the cliffs and cross the next bridge over the North Toutle.  Immediately after the bridge, park by the green gate on the left that is marked "road closed".  This old road follows a finger of ancient mudflow down toward the juncture of the Green and Toutle Rivers with side roads that are easy to follow except for a few windfalls.   Explore these old roads through a remnant of old growth timber dotted with views of the fish collection facility on the left, and the Green River Fish Hatchery on the right.  The easiest way to drop down to the May 18 mudflow and the rivers is to follow an old road to the right, toward the hatchery.  When I walked here, I kept on top of the ridge until I ran out of old road, then kept working my way to the end of the finger ridge.  With steep mudflow drop-offs on both sides, I found an elk trail down to the flat.  Once you hit the bottom, let exploration begin, with old roads, angler trails, and game trails all headed to the river junctions and a popular fishing hole.  Looking up at the steep grey walls from the bottom, it is easy to visualize how the ridge was created as the rivers gouged into the ancient mudflow.  (This is the same 2000 year old mudflow that created Silver Lake, and underlies the flatter areas around Toutle.)

The area across Green River and atop the rocky cliffs in front of you was once a community called Lithow.  The earliest route to Mount St. Helens and the Spirit Lake, along with the Green River mines, passed through here.  The wagon road worked its way past homesteads winding from Toledo.  It generally followed the route of the 1800 and 1900 logging roads near Hatchet Mountain, then dropped down to cross the Green River near here.  The road had to swithchback up the steep finger ridge of ancient mudflow, then drop again to follow the North Toutle up the valley to the Mountain.  One homesite remains, along with the Green River hatchery.    When the road was punched in from Castle Rock, and especially after the new Coal Banks bridge (circa 1927) outside Toutle was built, the route from Toledo was abandoned.   

The May 18, 1980 mudflow filled all the lowlands here with sand, rock, and debris.  Later, the hatchery was cleaned up and restarted.  The hatchery buildings are some of the few remaining structures that were inundated with mudflow and are still in use today.   The finger ridge of remnant old growth was preserved as a mitigation area for the construction of the new highway.  Recently, the land has been transferred to the Department of Wildlife.   The WDFW has an "official" river access just across the North Toutle adjacent to the Fish Collection Facility.  Expect some activity there soon as the state and federal government rebuild and improve the Facility.  On your return trip, look for the access road to the WDFW on the other side of the bridge, heading west on 504, its the first road to the right.  An angler's trail leads to the river directly across from where you just visited. 
 

Did you know a big-time Hollywood movie was filmed in the Toutle Valley?  In 1937 "God's Country and the Woman", a logging-adventure-love story, was filmed in several locations in Cowlitz County.  I've seen the movie a few times on classic television, and I made a VHS copy of it once.  It's really cool to see the places we locals are all familiar with on the big screen, especially the shots of Spirit Lake and Mount St. Helens from before the eruption.   Another famous scene is of the rocky Toutle River Gorge, dubbed "Hollywood Gorge" after the film.  Spoiler alert! They created an artificial log jam, blasted it wide open, and ran a train engine into the river all for the movie.  My father grew up on the banks of the river here, and as a child, I fished the very near where the action occurred all those years ago.

Today, it is more difficult to see Hollywood Gorge. Much of the land and the main access road to the heart of the Gorge is now posted, but the river remains public.  Experienced kayakers and boaters (and I emphasize experienced!) float the Toutle through the Gorge for high adventure during high water. Most whitewater enthusiasts put in at the main Toutle bridge just past Drew's Grocery and float to the takeout on Tower Road.  The rapids can be class 4 with high, muddy and log filled waters adding to the adventure and danger.  Over the years, commercial rafting company's have offered trips.  If you are into this type of thing here's a site with the details: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/2253/

There are also some YouTube videos posted for a "virtual" run down the Toutle.

If you want a view of the gorge from dry land, here are a few places to see it.  The first bridge across the Toutle was called Coal Banks Bridge, and it crossed at a narrow, rocky point about a half-mile downstream of the current bridge on Hwy 504.  The Coal Banks Bridge was replaced by a new bridge about 1970.  When the eruption wiped out the new bridge, the Army Corps of Engineers resurrected the old Coal Banks location and put in a Bailey bridge.  After the eruption kids like me rode the school bus across that narrow Army Baily bridge for a few years.  (National Geographic magazine photographers even rode with us once.)  High in a school bus on the Bailey bridge, you could really get a good view of the roiling water at the heart of the Gorge.  I know I wouldn't be going down there in a kayak or raft!

The Bailey bridge was removed when a new post-eruption bridge was built, but the route remains.  Park at either end of the old Coal Banks Road gates and walk the old pavement to where the bridge used to cross the river.  (Because a state law that prevents counties from giving up road access to waters, these routes are open to the public.)  The route on the east side of the new bridge is shorter. This location gives you an idea of the wildness of Hollywood Gorge.  Driving along Tower Road, which loops between Castle Rock and Toutle, also provides pull-offs and glimpses of the canyon and Gorge in several places.  The WDFW manages the take-out location where Tower Rd. crosses the River.  Pull off here to walk down to the water. 

Sometimes we tend to overlook great places that are right out the back door.  It always surprises me to hear people who live in Cowlitz County but have never been "up the highway" to Johnston Ridge.  People come from all over the world to see Mount St. Helens, but sometimes locals don't. 

I was that way with kayaking Silver Lake, and what fun I've been missing.  It was just a quick trip in a borrowed kayak, but the evening was quiet, the water smooth, and the views and sunset-- stunning.

Here where I went.  Take Sightly Road to Canal Road, which swings right.  Canal Road drops to single lane with no center lane stripe and heads toward the lake along Hemlock Creek.  In the past canals and ponds were dug here for drainage, thus the name.  There is a tight parking spot just past the culverts on the right.  This is also the "launch".  I put in here and followed the main channel west toward the main lake.  The vegetation, mostly spirea, willows, and ash trees, holds many signs of wetland life.  Birds and beavers are abundant.  Just when you think you've run out of room to paddle, you notice that some of the brances have been snipped, creating a narrow tunnel in the brush.  Yes, this is the way.  Push and pull along,  under and through to the other side where the water opens up again, and the lake proper is in sight. Side channels lead to other areas to explore.  As darkness neared, I turned around before hitting the main lake, but the return views of Mount St. Helens were spectacular.