Hallo my friends. Awesome photo ^^

Hi Talienn,
Thanks for your response.

I am so glad I did not blink in the photo! It was a good visit. The husky tail was lively that day, and it was my Mom's birthday when we visited.
Cheers,
---> Corn

Maybe she's gonna explode again!

Hi Panzier,
Hummm, not sure. We did not feel any rumbling while there. However, as we continued to progress to the viewing area, we did catch a smell of the steam vents. The smell reminded us of Kilauea crater the year prior.
Cheers,
---> Corn

Very cool! Me and a friend made a trip to Mount Saint Helens a few years back, it's one of those places I still want to go back to! It's been a dream of mine to hike the south face, which requires permits and good weather in the spring. I've still not made time for it. Still, beautiful place, would love to go back!

Hi Edgewise! **offers foot high-fives**
Hummm.. I thought I was already watching you.
Better late than never.

I would love to go back to the Pacific northwest. Digeri was a grrrreat guide when we were out there. Consider that a green/yellow husky and dingo were looking out the south-face as you hike there.
Cheers,
---> Corn

wonderful fursuits

Hi Crow,
Thank you for the kind comment. Digeri and I had a good time that day at Mt. St. Helens. I am currently building Corn Husky 2 sets of new hand paws. After six years, the fur tends to wear out.
Cheers,
---> Wally

you´re welcome

This is an awesome picture! I got to see Mt. St. Helens earlier this year, on a sort of soul searching trip across the west on an old motorbike. Always wanted to see it, I was obsessed with volcanoes as a kid. Took the long, hard road up NF99 to get as close as I could. I wondered how it looks from the other side. I think you got the better view, but seeing the sun set over Spirit Lake from 4k ft made it all worth it!

Digeri and I visited the Pacific NW back in August 2011. It was my first and only trip in that part of the county. After visiting Digeri's old-friends in Kirkland, WA, we stopped by Mt. St. Helens on the way back to Portland. Digeri gave me a full-tour of the region, since he lived there for a few years. We landed at Johnston Ridge and made our visit "in-style". The visitor wrist-band would not fit around my large husky-paws, so it was looped on the D-ring of my sled harness. We lucked out with a good view that day. Clouds kept accumulating on Mt. St. Helens peak during our visit. In dating myself, I remember when the volcano erupted and scattered mud-ash all over.

Kudos to your motorbike trip to the region. We saw Spirit Lake from our position, which is a distance off. I would agree sunset over Spirit Lake would be beautiful. Sounds like it was worth the effort.

It was well worth it! The ascent took more than 4x as long as I expected, with all the rugged switchbacks. After I figured out the detour! I was worried I wouldn't see it by daylight at all, and I was met with that amazing low sun when I topped the last hill. The only way I was able to get back down, was because it was all downhill! Maximum range. And I didn't pay for it yet! Riding those switchbacks at night, tired, inexperienced, with a single sad 80s headlight, and nowhere to sleep that night... that was the price.

Hey, now you've got an excuse! You NEED to wear that harness.
I feel like a full tour of the region would have taken all week! There's so much to see there, I only hit half the places I wanted to.
The eruption was before my time, but it was all over the history books!

I was wondering if you saw the sunset ON THE MOUNTAIN, I was wondering how you handled getting down or if you camped it. I hope it was not cold and uncomfortable if the need to camp was required. At least you have memories to savor.

I am currently living in TN. Switchbacks in the mountains can consume time... especially in the dark.

Yes yes... huskies have to wear sled-harnesses.

Yeah, saw it all up at 4,000ft! I don't know if I can send pictures on here, I'd show you. I should have asked some of the pro photographers up there where they post their pictures, certainly better than my mobile phone.
It was piercing cold on the way down, even under my layers, especially once I hit the humidity in the forest! Nowhere near as bad as the coast, though. I planned on camping on the peak, but it turn out the "campsites" were just wind swept parking lots. So I made the descent to a backup spot, and they were all 110% full with tourists. So, I looked around the forest for a random tree to pitch my hammock on, but the trees out there are so huge that I couldn't find one I would fit around. Made it down to the town and stumbled around in a tired stupor until I fell asleep in a parking lot.

That trip was hardcore, man! Worth it, though, it was a dream of mine to see that mountain since childhood. Pictures and words can't convey what you feel up there. The massive presence, the devastation, and first person scale for the power of nature. Seeing the curvature of the earth between the hills...
Just awesome.

Appalachia is beautiful, too! Man, I wouldn't mind living out there. I'm in ND now, nothing but flat, ice, and wind.

If a place is tourist-popular, no doubt it will get 110% full. I am glad you were able to at least sleep-off your exhausted-ness from your decent from the mountain. Your memory of the sunset cannot be taken away.

North Dakota is definitely in-the-elements. I have never been there. Perhaps the closest I come would be my work-trips to Butte, MT or St. Paul, MN. Butte was interesting with its history and terrain.

I responded to your note. Thank-you for your compliment for our chats. I find you interesting too. For pictures, another option can be E-mail.

Oh man, Butte is beautiful! My favorite part of the country I've been to. It doesn't get nicer anywhere east of there. We're pretty similar to MN. Colder, flatter, less trees and water.