Miles: Varies
Elevation Gain/Highest: 3300ft/5800ft (up to)
Map: National Geographic Mount St Helens/Mount Adams, Green Trail Mount St Helens NVM No332s, Caltopo
Favorite Eats After Hike: Pack A Cooler (still researching)
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike details:
Mount Margaret Backcountry is a part of the 110,000 acre Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument located on the north side of the mountain and received the brunt of the eruption blast in 1980. Now recovering from the devastation, the area offers day hikes around Coldwater Lake and near by ridges and backpacking trips up into the alpine lakes area and summits such as Mount Margaret and Coldwater Peak that look out on the blast zone.
From the forest service website:
“Explore rugged trails which lead to clear lakes, steep ridges and flowered, mountain slopes. View downed and standing dead trees killed during the 1980 eruption by a sizzling, lateral blast that pummeled the pristine forest, and see the plants and wildlife that have returned. The backcountry offers spectacular views of the crater, blast zone, and log-strewn Spirit Lake, as well as Mount Rainier and Mount Adams.
Trails are narrow, steep in places and can climb over 2,000 feet. Camping allowed at eight campsites by advance reservation only. Forest Roads 99 and 26 to Norway Pass Trailhead normally open the end of June through November. Portions of trails are often covered by snow until midsummer. Be prepared to cross snow slopes if you plan an early season visit.”
Logistics:
The main trails that access the backcountry are the Lakes Trail #211, South Coldwater Trail #230A, Coldwater Trail #230, and Boundary Trail #1.
There are 3 main access points: Coldwater Lake (Lakes Trail #211 or South Coldwater Trail #230A), Johnston Ridge Observatory and Norway Pass Trailhead (Boundary Trail #1).
8 backcountry campsite areas are available, going clockwise from Ridge Camp near Coldwater Lake through the backcountry:
- Ridge Camp (4000ft): the lowest camp and closest to Coldwater Lake. 3 miles from the S. Coldwater Trailhead. Water is .2 miles away from camp.
- Snow Lake Camp (4710ft): up the Lakes Trail from Coldwater Lake, 8.5 miles from the trailhead and 6.6 miles from Ridge Camp.
- Shovel (4660ft), Panhandle (4500ft), Obscurity (4350ft) Lake Camps : three lakes nestled in the 1.5 miles of the Lakes Basin below Mt Whittier. Obscurity is the closest lake campsite to the Norway Pass Trailhead (6 miles).
- Bear Camp (5460ft): the highest camp, located between Norway Pass and Mount Margaret. 5 miles from Norway Pass Trailhead along the Boundary Trail #1.
- Margaret Camp (5410ft): located along the Boundary Trail #1 around Mount Margaret and Mount Teragram between Bear and Dome Camps.
- Dome Camp (5300ft): located between Mount Margaret and Coldwater Peak, about 4.6 miles from Ridge Camp and 2.5 from Bear Camp. It is possible to access from Johnston Ridge on the Boundary Trail #1.
My trip report:
6/22-24/2021, about 25 miles on the Coldwater Peak, South Coldwater and Lakes Trails, day one GAIA track, day 2 track
This report is for a two night basecamp at Ridge Camp via South Coldwater Trail with day hikes along the Coldwater Peak Trail (day one) and Lakes Trail to Snow Lake (day 2).
Our original plan for a few months had been to do a lazy backpacking trip on Siouxon Creek and Huffman Peak but a phone call the week before to the Forest Service confirmed that the trail is not safe so it was time for plan B. Looking at my list of yet-to-hike Classic 100s in the Mt St Helens area, the Mount Margaret Backcountry stood out.
Heading over to check it out, of course it needed permits. But low and behold, there was ONE site at Ridge camp so I snagged it. Then, I had to go do my research and see where that even was and current conditions. There were very few reports (usually means harder to get to still) and the FS website had the gate to Norway Pass closed (best way to get into the lakes area) with most camps still under snow.
For the next few days it was a game of refreshing the Recreation.gov website to see if a spot might open up. A few higher up did (Bear, Panhandle, Obscurity) but at the final hour, a second night at Ridge camp opened up and we had our two night itinerary.
We dropped a car at the Coldwater lake trailhead (bathroom) and then parked at the S Coldwater trailhead, deciding we wanted to hike out on the third day on the Lakes Trail. Our hike in started at 8am with the promise of warm temps and no water until camp so we were heavy with water. This section of trail is short (3 miles) and so beautiful, PRIME WILDFLOWERS right now.
*WHAT WE WISH WE HAD KNOWN BEFORE* When we arrived at the junction for the Coldwater Trail, we should have dropped out packs and walked down to the left just a few hundred feet and filled our canteens from where the spring crosses the trail. Instead, we turned right up to camp and had to walk back down. Not a biggie but when it is HOT, it is one less thing.
*RIDGE CAMP* Not having been to Ridge Camp before, I knew it was dry and was going off the FS map they have on their website. We were only able to find one tent pad, the one on the left side of the trail as you arrive.
The toilets were on the right and there were plenty of flat, sandy places to put tents but no other tent pads evident (at least not where the map said they should be). Despite all the permits taken on the website, we had Ridge Camp to ourselves that night and one group showed up the next night.
We used an Ursack/Opsak combo for our food and it was possible to either tie it to a stump or wedge it deep into one away from camp. The camp had a nice knoll to walk up for a sunrise/sunset view and this is where we ate breakfast/dinner. There were a few ground squirrels for audience but they were not aggressive. There was a trail that headed up the hill from camp towards Blastzone Butte and I imagined that might make nice sunrise hike while we were here. Shade gratefully came to camp about 6:30-7pm each night. The COOLEST part was a wolf howling close to camp our first night!!
It was quite warm when we made it to camp a little before noon so we settled in and and attempted short naps. After this, we took a stroll up the Coldwater Peak trail to see how far we could get for the day. This is when we noticed you could see right into the toilets from the trail…
This section was even more beautiful with wildflowers and views up the Coldwater Valley. We could see the creek flowing through the lush green terrain and some snow lingered in gullies but not on the trail. A rock outcropping along the way made for a nice perch and as we made our way around the slope of Blastzone Butte, parts were narrow with loose soil. If you don’t like heights, the parts that go around on ledges won’t be fun but there are good handholds.
We made it to the saddle and had a lovely view of Mt St Helens. My friend decided she did not have the peak in her, so we dropped our packs and went up the saddle a bit to the right towards Blastzone Butte. *WHAT WE WISHED WE HAD KNOWN* Once up, we realized it was possible to loop back around the butte to Ridge Camp on the trail I had seen earlier. Because we had dropped our packs, however, we traced our steps back to camp for the evening.
For our second day, we decided we would drop down the Coldwater Trail to the Lakes Trail and see how far we would get up in to the lakes area. It would be about 12 miles round trip and a dip in the lake would be wonderful on yet another warm day. We wistfully talked about a possible loop back over Margaret (18 miles). Yeah, nope.
The 2 miles down to the bridge that crosses over Coldwater was not the worst thing I have done but it was overgrown, muggy and buggy. There was one viewpoint about half way that looked out to where we were headed and the waterfalls of Coldwater. We basked in the coolness of the water rushing under the bridge before making our way up to the junction of the Lakes Trail (2.4 miles from Ridge Camp).
The next mile to the overlook of the creek and a very nice spot to take in the scenery was a gentle climb but overgrown sections, trees over the trail and more muggy/buggy made it a slower go. After this point, it was obvious the traffic significantly dies off and it was what I like to call “Brutally Beautiful”. Although there was plenty of stunning things to look at and water over the trail, the trail itself is in bad shape. This is definitely not for your average hiker, let along backpacker attempting Snow Lake.
At roughly 4.5 miles from camp, the verdant valley opens up to a breathtaking panoramic view of Whittier, Teragram and Margaret. Tears of backcountry joy may have come to my eyes but it could have also been the exhaustion just getting to this point. And we really hadn’t even gotten to the worst of it yet. I has so thankful we were only day hiking and not carrying our full packs into the lakes. We sat for a while and opted to continue on knowing we were supposedly less than 2 miles of the lake. Looking back, this should have been our turn around point.
From here, it was even slower going. The trail was exposed to the sun most of the time (thank goodness I had my sun umbrella), washouts, tread encroached or simply missing, loose soil with that nasty pebbly crap, trees down. I could go on and on. At least there were fewer bugs and a couple trickles of water over the trail.
At about 5.7 miles in my friend started to feel nauseous, not a good sign. She found herself a spot of shade and decided not to go further. She told me to go check out the lake because we knew we were close. I continued, however, more in hopes of the outlet and within .1 mile there was a cold waterfall over the trail. I dropped my pack and returned to her, taking her pack so she could go up and stick herself in it. No heatstroke on this trip, thank you.
After a short time to reduce her core temp, I did make my way up to check out Snow Lake. The actual outlet was at about 5.9 miles and I hit snow at 6 miles and 4400 feet in elevation. From here it was navigating over snowfields, postholing and looking for signs of trailwork (cut logs). Even where the trail was bare, it was overgrown in many places.
I arrive at Snow Lake at 6.6 miles (from Ridge Camp) and 4,700 feet with a snow-lined lake and zero people. Again, I was glad we had opted to not take a second night in the lakes area, there would have been even more snow up at the higher lakes/passes/trails. Stopping long enough to eat a quick bite, I made my way back down to where my friend was waiting in the shade.
With how crappy the trail was, it was yet again slow going back down to the junction for Coldwater, arriving around 5:30pm. Even with the pace, I slipped at least once to land on my butt on the trail. We were now 10 hours into our day. There was a little spur down to the creek’s level so we took a break here and had dinner. Anticipating a long day, I had brought dinner and my stove. By 6:30 we were ready to head back up the 2 miles to camp which took us 2 hours due to exhaustion and heat. We had plenty of water waiting for us in canteens at camp but we filled with cold water anyway.
For our third day we opted to just hike back out the S Coldwater Trail, neither of us wanted to go back down to the bridge. Besides, the view from above down to the lake is so nice with all the fields of wildflowers, it was not exactly a drudgery.
Other than the 2 people who camped at Ridge Camp the second night, we only saw people while on the S. Coldwater who were doing the loop with the Lakes Trail. Overall, it was a memorable trip and par for how we usually do things (even when we say we are going to do a lazy trip). Of course, the gate to Norway Pass opened on our third say but it sounds like there is still plenty of snow on that side. We plan to come back in the fall for a day hike to Mount Margaret Backcountry!
Directions: For the Coldwater Lake access, take either exit 63 (Winlock-Toledo) or 49 (Castle Rock off of Interstate 5 (I-5), follow signs for SR-504 and Mount Saint Helens National Monument roughly 45-46 miles away. The Coldwater Lake picnic area/boat launch comes first with the South Coldwater Trail parking lot a mile further down the road. A Northwest Forest Pass is needed, bathrooms are available at the Coldwater Lake Trailhead and Johnston Observatory at the end of the road. Do not expect cellphone service. This road is usually open year round.
For the Norway Pass Trailhead access, you can either go in from Randle, WA along SR 12 to White Pass on the north side or Cougar, WA along SR 503 on the south side. From Randle, drive south for 20 miles on State Route 131 that becomes Forest Road 25. Turn right from FR 25 onto FR 99 and travel 9 miles, then right on FR 26 one mile to the trailhead. From Cougar, take the Lewis River Road east for 2.8 miles until it changes to FR 90. Continue on FR 90 for 16 miles, then stay to the left onto FR 25, passing the Pine Creek Information Center. Drive FR 25 for 25 miles to the junction of Forest Road 99, and turn left onto Forest Road 99 towards Windy Ridge. Drive approximately 9.2 miles to Forest Road 26 and turn right. A Northwest Forest Pass is needed, a privy is available. FR 26 and 99 are often closed for winter conditions Nov-June.
Overnight Camping Permits are available at Recreation.gov.
Call Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, (360) 449-7800 or visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/giffordpinchot/recarea/?recid=34143 for current conditions.
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