Foley Family Adventures: Silver Star Mountain

Kevin ended up NOT going on his overnight trip and so we planned another adventure. We chose to do a hike in the Mt. St. Helen's area and set off late morning. It was quite an adventure just getting to the trailhead. The last 10 miles were up a long, dirt road which turned very narrow and was quite bumpy. We probably would have turned around, but the road was literally too narrow.

We finally arrived at the small parking lot and were rewarded with an amazing view of Mt. St. Helens. We ate our lunch and then began our hike up Silver Star mountain. There were times when Kevin and I remarked to each other that this might be the most beautiful hike we have ever done. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and as we got higher and higher we began to see more and more mountain peaks.

I am rejuvenated by hiking and was so glad we got to do this one!

In this picture, you can see Mt. St. Helens and then Mt. Rainer is peeking through on the right.

Although you can't see it in this picture, this beautifully framed Mt. Hood. It was gorgeous!

There is Mt. Hood...

The rock arch we passed through.

The trail had become very narrow and although the incline was nice and gradual, we were on the side of a very steep mountain. It was not "kid friendly". After we passed through the rock arch, we noticed that the trail got even hairier for a while, so we made the decision to turn around. We had passed a patch of snow and decided to go back to that to play and rest. The girls did a "happy dance" on the snow and we rested, taking in the spectacular views of the mountains.

After resting a bit and playing in the snow, we noticed the other path on the other side of the hill we were resting on. So we made our way down and decided to hike in the opposite direction of the car to see if we could make it to the summit on this trail. It was a much wider trail, though not nearly as scenic. The closer we got to the top, the more snow we had to hike through. The kids loved it.

We finally reached the summit and it was worth it. The view was amazing.

Looking into Oregon...Mt. Hood...We could see Mt. Jefferson in the distant background as well

Mt. Adams...this would have been spectacular if the clouds had moved a little more!

Mt. St. Helens

We saw a couple of these giant ant mounds...they were just covered (and probably filled) with ants. I would hate to accidentally sit down on one!

This particular hike is known for its wildflowers, but because of its location the flowers won't bloom for a couple more weeks. Right now the trillium and these trout lilies (erythronium oregonum) are blooming.