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June Lake, Mt. St.
Helens |
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Hiking alone for so long has left a rather empty space in me. One that is not easy to fill. One that is rather specific about who I spend time with doing what I love so much. Given the pleasant weather forecast, I thought it a grand idea to try the family out again and see what we all thought of lightweight backpacking together. We left the Marble Mountain Snow Park and walked the short distance to the cutoff trail leading to June Lake. Amber was most interested in the wild strawberries I promised.
A quick, albeit dangerous scramble got us over the lava flows and to our campsite. Things could not be more perfect as we had the entire area to ourselves. I quickly got things set up as the kids were revving to explore.
Johnny knew exactly what he wanted to do; play with the water. June lake was a cold, clear lake that is fed year round by a 30 foot waterfall coming out from under the blast zone. The campsite was quite serene. After convincing Johnny to put on some clothing, I got a fire going in which he thought just as amazing as the lake.
Amber and Jordan seemed to have the time of their lives as Amber caught the biggest frog she has seen in a lake. Proud of her accomplishment, she displayed it as a fisherman would a 20 pound large mouth. After returning the frog to it's habitat, we all cleaned up and ate while watching the fire and chatting. It is pleasant to get out of the hum-drum, noisy suburbs full of TV sporting crappy entertainment, and really connect. With dinner finished, the tired ones retreated to their tarp. While the two played cards, I lit a couple of tea candles, placing them in front of their door in the fading light as it added a real sense of peace to the atmosphere.
Morning came too soon as I was still tired from all the chores I had to do yesterday. As I started packing, the girls went on another hunt in the cool morning mist for anything that they could not find at home.
Amber simply could not get enough as her explorative instincts were in overdrive. Trying to keep her feet dry for the walk out was another challenge not intended for the weak.
We took the route down the June Lake trail as there were points that I wanted to stop at to see what kind of devastation last November's 11 inches of rain left. I was incredulous as the entire little gully was stripped barren. A creek, 6 feet wide at best, left a mess of rocks and debris well over 100 feet wide.
We came to the end of the trail and hit the road, heading for the crossing of the washed out blacktop. Johnny's hands were cold as it gave Jordan an excuse to have a little closer time with me than we had this weekend.
The road was gone. Five feet under the road was gone. On the south side, 15 feet below the road was gone. I could not believe my own eyes as I have been to June Lake since the late 80s, long before there were any signs posted. I have never seen such destruction up close and personal.
We carefully treaded across the temporary bridge while gawking in all directions. I am not sure when or even if the Forest Service will fix the road, but all this devastation allowed us some badly needed privacy.
A quick 30 minutes saw us back to the van with horses in the parking lot. Icing on the proverbial cake for Amber. We quickly changed and headed home to resume a life of hectic, nerve racking fun. Although this was an incredible time for a family, even though I enjoyed it thoroughly, I did not have any time for reading or contemplation as keeping track of three outrageous children kept me busy for 14 hours straight.
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