[Steve]

After spending some time taking photos and taking in the awesome views, it was time to continue on with our adventure. Once back to the the four-way intersection we passed earlier, we traveled straight through the intersection (South) on FS 77 where the road turns to dirt and pumice and basically follows the ridge. After climbing on the native surface road, the area opens up into huckleberry meadows as it winds along the ridge. If I recall correctly from stories I heard growing up, this area had a major fire in the early part of the 20th century (1940's ?) and the timber never grew back, resulting in the open meadows.



FS 77 continues in a southerly direction crossing back and forth on both sides of the ridge, with views of Mt Rainier, Goat Rocks, Mt Adams and Mt St Helens. Along the way, FS 77 passes by several prominent rock out croppings including French Butte and Pinto Rock. From Pinto Rock, FS 77 descends into the Mosquito Meadows area and eventually meets up with FS-28 where we headed to the right (West) for a short trip back to FS-25.



Once we were back on FS-25, we headed right (North) a short distance until we reached the junction of FS 99 where we turned left (West) and followed the sign to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at Mt. St. Helens. After stopping at nearly every viewpoint to take in the views of the blast zone the mountain and take photos (thanks Rich and Michael for putting up with Kelly and myself) we eventually reached the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at Mt. St. Helens and the Spirit Lake overlook.



During our visit, the mountain was partially obscured by clouds but we could clearly see a steam plume from the crater. Because of the position of the sun, photos of Mt. St. Helens were a little difficult to take without special filters. Either way, the views were great. For this trip, I brought along a spotting scope which allowed for very close up views of the Mt. St. Helens, Spirit Lake, Johnson Ridge and the surrounding country.



My original plan for the trip was to follow FS 26 back to the Woods Creek area to FS 25 and bypass taking FS 99. The forest service website listed FS 26 as being closed but with past experience, what is listed on the forest service websites and what is reality can be two different things. After saying our farewells to Rich and Michael who were taking FS 25 south past Cougar, Washington back to their home in Vancouver, Kelly and I headed down FS 26 to see how far we could drive.

We were able to drive all the way to the Norway Pass trailhead where we were met by a road closed sign. Driving past the sign, there was a pair of concrete barriers that previously blocked the road. Someone had apparently pushed one out of the way and onto its side just enough to drive one wheel onto the barrier and make the passage (a four wheel drive is required).



A short distance later, we encountered the first of two obstacles and the obvious reason the road was closed. Ahead of us was the Ford F350 we had met up earlier on top of Burley Mountain. They were stopped at the washout and had spotted a small herd of elk on the distant hill side, undetectable by the human eye (at least mine). All of the roadbed was nearly completely washed out by by last Fall's floods. Luckily, the washout paralleled the road and one side of the bank along the road was intact which provided a not too difficult bypass.



In about another 1/4 mile, there was section of road that was blocked by a slide. Again, somebody got creative and created a path through the washout complete with rocks and logs built up so a high clearance four wheel drive vehicle could pass over the largest downed log. This ended up being the last obstacle all the way to FS 25.



As Kelly and I made our way back to FS 25, we made several stops for photos of the fall colors that was throughout the Quartz Creek valley. At the time of our trip, the local vine maple was in full glory in its fall colors.

Once back on FS 25, I stopped at the Woods Creek Wildlife Viewing Area for a final rest stop for me and my dog while Kelly headed home to Eatonville.



We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful Fall day - blue skies and warm weather. I want to thank Kelly, Rich and Michael for the good company for the days trip. I've now driven this route three years in a row and it seems to have become a perennial favorite of mine. With that said, I'll probably be back next year for another round.

To see all the photos of this trip, please visit Burley Mountain Lookout to Mt St Helens.