Programs
Recreation
Guided Adventures
Our 2012 Snowshoe Adventure and Guided Hike dates are here!
We offer snow shoe rentals! You will need to provide your own sno-park pass, lunch and transportation to the trailhead.
Cancellation Policy: The Mount St. Helens Institute Guided Adventures are non-refundable and non-transferable. The Mount St. Helens Institute reserves the right to cancel any event. In the event of a cancellation, participants will receive a full refund.
Changes in Guided Adventure Location: The Mount St. Helens Institute reserves the right to change the location of our Guided Adventures up until the informational email about the event is sent.
Guided Adventures Information and Policies
Guided Adventure Gear List
Aug 11: Awesome Hike #2
The Awesome Hike
August 11
Take an amazing 10 mile hike from Johnston Ridge Observatory through the heart of the blast zone and experience the most amazing landscape you’ve ever seen. Guided by the Mount St. Helens Institute guides and including occasional science lessons, this will be a day you won’t soon forget.
Meeting Place: Johnston Ridge Observatory, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
What time: 8 AM
Make or Break Date: August 9
Requirements: Guests should be in good shape and able to hike 10 miles with some elevation gain and over some challenging terrain, prepared for changing mountain weather and follow our “what to bring” guidelines.
Ticket Price: $75.00; includes a shuttle back to your car at day’s end.
Funds raised from this hike will be used to support our Science Education and Conservation programs..
Please visit our Information and Policies page to read our cancellation policy and guidelines for the hike.
Aug 4-5: Ridge to Ridge Guided Hike
“Ridge to Ridge: Geology and Memories in the Heart of the Blast Zone”
Instructor: Brittany Brand
August 4 (evening campout)- August 5
This all-inclusive field seminar will begin with a meet up at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center at Silver Lake near Castle Rock, WA. We will transfer your camping gear to a van which will take it to our field camp where we will end up (you don’t have to carry your stuff). From there, we will proceed to Johnston Ridge Observatory, where we will have a discussion of the geologic events leading to the May 18, 1980 eruption with our instructor, Brittany Brand. Following the Boundary Trail, we’ll head down to the Pumice Plain where many surprises await. We’ll view the pyroclastic flows, observe Spirit Lake up close, enjoy colorful and abundant wildflowers and even hike to a stunning waterfall of glacial ice melt. The hike will end at Windy Ridge, a short bus ride away from our luxurious field camp where meals, libations, spacious cabin tents, cots and wood stoves are provided. That evening, we’ll enjoy dinner and conversation around the campfire with our instructors.
In the morning, we’ll take a pleasant hike on the Harmony Trail to discover the fascinating changes that have taken place along the trail in the last 30 years. As you walk this 1.3 mile trail (and stop for lunch at the lake shore) you’ll learn the history of Mount St. Helens as well as the names of plants and animals that have made the Harmony basin their home. At the end of the day, a bus will take you back to your cars at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center.
Make-or-break Date: July 20, 2012
Meeting Time: 8 AM
Meeting Place: TBD
Level: Easy
Requirements: Participants should be in good shape and able to hike a couple miles over rough terrain.
Gear: To see the list of required gear for our field seminars, click here.Fee: $250 (of which $75 is a tax-deductible contribution to the Institute)
Limit: 12
July 28: Awesome Hike #1
The Awesome Hike
July 28
Take an amazing 10 mile hike from Johnston Ridge Observatory through the heart of the blast zone and experience the most amazing landscape you’ve ever seen. Guided by the Mount St. Helens Institute guides and including occasional science lessons, this will be a day you won’t soon forget.
Meeting Place: Johnston Ridge Observatory, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
What time: 8 AM
Make or Break Date: July 26
Requirements: Guests should be in good shape and able to hike 10 miles with some elevation gain and over some challenging terrain, prepared for changing mountain weather and follow our “what to bring” guidelines.
Ticket Price: $75.00; includes a shuttle back to your car at day’s end.
Funds raised from this hike will be used to support our Science Education and Conservation programs..
Please visit our Information and Policies page to read our cancellation policy and guidelines for the hike.
July 20-21: The Pumice Plain to the Plains of Abraham
“The Pumice Plain to Plain the Plains of Abraham: Life Returns to Mount St. Helens” with Ray Yurkewycz
Instructor: Ray Yurkewycz
July 20 (evening campout)- July 21 (hiking day)
This seminar will begin Friday night at our remote science field camp*. Participants will dine with views of Mount Adams, Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens. Then, around a campfire (weather permitting), participants will hear stories of the amazing research that has taken place since the 1980 eruption. The next morning, Ray Yurkewycz will help us explore how life has reestablished and evolved over the last 30 years in this highly disturbed portion of the blast zone. This exciting 13 mile hike will take us across the Pumice Plain, past Loowit Falls, over Windy Pass to the Plains of Abraham and back to our vehicles via Windy Peak. Enjoy the spectacular wildflower displays and learn what factors determine who lives and dies in one of the Pacific Northwest’s most extreme natural environments.
*Participants are not required to camp overnight. They may meet the group at 7:00 am Saturday for the hike.
Make-or-break Date: July 6
Meeting Time: July 20 at 6 pm*
Meeting Place: Cascade Peaks
Level: Difficult
Requirements: This is a 13 mile hike involving an 800-foot ascent to Loowit Falls and another few hundred feet over Windy Pass. Participants should be in excellent shape and able to hike many miles over rough terrain.
Gear: To see the list of required gear for our field seminars, click here.
Fee: $75 Fee: $75 (of which $25 is a tax-deductible contribution to the Mount St. Helens Institute).
Limit: 12
Details will be e-mailed to participants on the “make-or-break” date.
March 31: Big Tree Snowshoe Adventure
Pineside Sno-Park
Meeting Time: 10:00 AM
Distance: 7 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Enjoy this snowshoe in the Mount Adams area to see one of the biggest Ponderosa Pines in the state. Snowshoe rental is available for $15/pair- please select snowshoe rental during registration.
Informational email will be sent to registered participants on the Wednesday, March 28th.
Price: $15 per person (rice does not include equipment or Sno-Park passes which can be purchased in numerous locations: http://www.parks.wa.gov/winter/vendors/). Snowshoe rental is available for $15/pair- please select snowshoe rental during registration.
Cancellation Policy: The Mount St. Helens Institute Guided Adventures are non-refundable and non-transferable. The Mount St. Helens Institute reserves the right to cancel any Guided Adventure. In this cases, participants will receive a full refund.
Changes in Location: Trail conditions and weather conditions can be unpredictable. The Mount St. Helens Institute reserves the right to change the location of our Guided Adventures up until the informational email about the day is sent in order to account for varying conditions.
