Hummocks-Boundary Trail - Mount St. Helens

“Triggered by a 5.1 earthquake, the hummocks are debris avalanche remains from the Mount St Helens' eruption on May 18, 1980.” [4Feet]: The trailhead is located merely five miles away from Johnston Ridge Observatory. The first ½ mile was considered flat and well-maintained. Along the way, Mount St Helens was present in the southeast of the view at all times. The sun shined brightly in the sky and reflected the “tempered lady’s” spectacular winter dress to hikers. The trail was clean without snow. The puddles in the wood were partially frozen with a thin ice film floating on the top. After 15 minutes of the hike, we stepped onto the Boundary Trail, which is a point-to-point trail connecting Johnston Ridge and Hummocks. The Boundary Trail is a 53.7-mile loop trail with numerous access points and trail junctions. One of the trial segments is between Johnston Ridge Observatory and Truman Trail, which leads to Harry’s Ridge, Margaret Mountain, and Coldwater Peak (please refer to previous hikes in 2020). This time, we decided to hike the pre-Johnston Boundary Trail and had a better view of the western side of Mount St Helens. Unlike the Hummocks loop trail, this segment of the Boundary Trail could be challenging. The trail was just shoulder-wide with continuous elevations. The narrow terrain trail alongside the drop-off could be frightening during either the ascent or descent. Fortunately, after a short distance of the “cliff walking”, we settled on a wider ridge. Directly facing the open crater of Mount St. Helens, the vegetation was still minimal after the 40-year post-eruption. In winter, most of the trees and grass in the Boundary Trail exhibited low-key vintage colors. Most of the ground-level green were mosses. Underneath the loose soil, the crystal-like glass could be found. In contrast, Mount St. Helens in far proximity deliberately showed her bright and vibrant colors throughout the day. From the color of gold and ruby at sunrise, dazzling white with azure shadows during the day, a blend of pink blush and violet at sunset, and silent grey all through the night, Mount St. Helens never lost her moments of beauty in winter. We did not reach Johnston Ridge Observatory as it was not our intention to finish it. We simply enjoyed the peaceful moments when preceding the hike (a total of 5 miles). Without human traffic, the nature talks. Those sounds which had been muted by humans now were all out. As we were having our lunch, the chit chat between hawks and winter wind were quietly loud. The sliding rocks from the valley echoed their sounds to the far vicinity. As mountaineers, we like to learn each mountain’s personality and temper. No mountain is created equal, and each one likes to show its very prideful life. Some mountains tend to give hikers a hard time, and some would simply like to see everyone smile. Unlike Mount Hood’s extrovert personality which shot aggressive brightness (refer to Cool Creek Trail 2020), Mount St Helens humbly displayed her glamour in a very romantic way. 1/23/21