Mount St Helens, The West Side Story

The west side of Mount St Helens is about as different from the east side as could be expected.  It's scenic.  It's tough.  It has variety.  It's probably not for everybody.  Doing the entire 15 mile loop will involve about 3400 feet of climbing, with the toughest section along the Loowit Trail, which in my opinion is the most scenic portion of the loop, but also the toughest because of four large gullys that are subject to washouts and are hikeabike situations.

Despite the hardships on the Loowit riders are rewarded with views of Sheep Canyon Falls, a seldom seen waterfall - provided you know where to find the side trail to the viewpoint (it's currently a bit overgrown).

Rides on the west side are probably best started on the Toutle Trail trailhead at Red Rock Pass.  The trail heads north over a blocky lava flow before gradually climbing over an old sand covered basalt lava flow.  On the south side of the Butte Camp Dome the trail passes through a small patch of fantastic old growth forest.

Closer to Blue Lake the trail passes through some flood damaged terrain where a work party during Helens Fest 2010 worked on clearing the trail of loose rocks.  (Note that the Kalama "Ski" trails in the area are open to mountain bike riding as well as horse back riding).

The Forest Service is in the process of putting in a bridge crossing the outlet to Blue Lake; otherwise the stream is pretty narrow, but deep.  If you don't like wet feet, take your shoes off.  The trail enters a relict stand of old growth forest as it climbs up to Huckleberry Saddle.  It offers views of Blue Lake which sometimes looks like "Emerald" would have been a better name.

At Huckleberry Saddle the trail begins a short steep downhill run to the bottom of Sheep Canyon and the junction for the Sheep Canyon Trail - or the spur to see the Falls.  The Sheep Canyon Trail is pretty steep.  It gains over 1,000 feet in a mile and three quarters, but in that climb you get good views of Sheep Canyon and see a forest transition from large trees at the bottom to a subalpine forest. At the junction with the Loowit you can chose to take a short sidetrip over to see the scenic upper Sheep Canyon under a half mile to the north (left).

Or you can decide to head south to the Butte Camp Trail, just under an arduous three miles away.  The descent down the Butte Camp Trail to Red Rock Pass is just about as much fun as you can have with two wheels and a bicycle seat under you.  It has a lot of variety with some great views.

On our ride we didn't encounter any horseback riders, although they are able to ride on the Toutle Trail.  We did encounter several friendly hikers, one of whom was grateful for us reuniting her with her camera!

Horse flies are pretty common on this side of the mountain - more so than on the east side.  They are annoying, as are mosquitoes early in the season.  Also use plenty of sunscrean as well.  No less than 3 litres of water should be carried as well - here's what I finished the ride with:

I'm not sure Eric will return to this loop, he had a great time as well as a challenging time.  I heard him both say how awesome the trail was and heard a few mutterings as well.  The trail is like that.  Don't think the first 6.25 miles represents what the next five miles will be like.  If you blast thru those first easy miles you will be struggling until you finally reach the Butte Camp Trail and the descent home.  Enjoy the experience!